The Art Of War
by MisterMagic25
Summary: War: An organized and often prolonged conflict that is carried out by states or non-state actors. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, social disruption, and economic destruction. Well The Saints,The Syndicate & Others will show you a battle that will bring the city to its knees and show war as a art form. Co-Written By Me and J3Awesome. Rated M. Read,Review & Enjoy
1. Bottle Of Champagne With A Side Of Lead

**The Art Of War**

**Author's Note: Minor edits, including a few added parts to increase the story's flow. I apologize for the long absence, but it will be worth the wait.**

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**Chapter 1: Can I get a bottle of champagne? With a side of lead?**

A week had passed since the recent botched heist that landed The Boss, Johnny and Shaundi in a dingy, foul smelling jail cell that ignited a long lit fuse on The Third Street Saints moral. Especially their own second in command, the infamous Johnny Gat, whom the latter questioned the course of the former street gang he aided in creating and maintaining since the days when Julius had held of the reigns, and The Boss was nothing but a mute recruit.

After being relocated to the industries, blue collared working man's city of Steelport. Was when The Saints had an even more convincing wake-up call once realizing that their funds had been drained, and their empire hardly meant anything with the exception of the Planet Saints stores that were nothing more than an eye sore filled with an excess of purple attire and fan-boy paraphernalia.

Even through the misfortunes they faced, The Saints still managed to get onto the map, and make a name for themselves as they did multiple amounts of times in their hometown of Stilwater. And were even able to secure an upscale rooftop penthouse that their previous negotiator Phillipe Loren was nice enough to set them up with as a welcoming present.

And due to their recent accomplishments, The Saints decided to celebrate the only way they knew how. Partying. The bass of the ear ringing loud music made the walls and floor come alive as the growing crowd of dancers moved to the repetitive beats that seemed endless.

The Boss, like always wasn't much of a dancer or one for a good time. And due to his paranoia always stood atop the highest vantage point, in case of an unsuspecting invasion that hardly ever occurred. The tall, statuesque man leaned over the guard railing on the balcony that seemed to be his own V.I.P area that was completed with Saints recruits passing by every now and again offering bottle service, and a few attractive women moving their hips in hope of being noticed by the  
usually non-social leader.

Shaundi, the young brunette bombshell that seemed to catch any man's eye was uncommonly sitting behind the well finished bar picking at the ice on the bottom of the glass with her acrylic, recently painted purple gloss nail. She sighed, hoping of even the greasiest of creeps willing to have a conversation.

Her wishes were met, as the suave and dangerous Johnny Gat strolled up to the bar, shadowed by the non-camera shy Pierce Washington, who stood back a few feet as Johnny slowly crept towards the unsuspecting woman.

"Yo Shaundi, you gonna order me a drink or what?" Johnny cooed lowly into the young lieutenant's ear, making her jump slightly at the sound of his voice.

"Maybe if we ask nicely..." Shaundi responded with a smile, wrapping her arms around the substantially larger man waist as her returned the gesture.

"What's up girl?" Pierce smiled widely, as he bumped knuckles with Shaundi and ordered a few more drinks, but not without complaining of the shitty service first.

"Nothing much, still can't wait to take down that French fuck that almost got The Boss and Johnny killed" Shaundi shot back with venom in her tone at the mention of Loren, Pierce winced at her words knowing that she still wasn't in the best of mood.

"I thought he was Belgian" Johnny joked, and chuckled just as he tossed back the glass of scotch that was set in front of him and hissed as it hit the back of his throat.

"Doesn't matter, we're gonna get him soon enough" Pierce took a sip of his drink and puckered his lips at the sour taste.

"Just can't go in an pull a Johnny ya know" Pierce pushed the glass back across the bar an ordered another one, then chuckled at his own joke.

"Yo fuck off, my plans have worked out you were just too busy bitching about it to understand my logic" Johnny shot back, leaning back in his chair and throwing down another glass of scotch.

"I'm being for real Gat, you always go in guns-blazing and end up with an ass full of lead, sometimes literally" Pierce busted out into laughter, as Johnny only flipped him the bird as he spun his chair around and faced the dancing crowd.

"Better than being a little diva who's always checking on his hair and shit" Johnny said after a long pause, Pierce looked away in defeat as he mumbled a few curses under his breathe.

"Whatever man, I happen to be the name of The Saints" Pierce replied, as he took of his hat and fixed his hair.

"True as that may be, your still a little diva who's afraid to break a nail" Shaundi finally spoke up and looked towards the balcony were The Boss was still in the same place as he was when she first arrived.

"Does The Boss ever have any fun? He's been so distant lately" Shaundi questioned, immediately grabbing Johnny's and Pierce's attention, making them face her.

"He used to, but ever since we became pop culture icons, he just stays in that office of his and keeps his nose in paperwork all day long, and doesn't come out until he either needs to eat, or kill something." Johnny commented.

"Gats right, he doesn't even want to go to clubs with me anymore, I need my wingman what if some crazed fan tries to kidnap me!" Pierce cried, Shaundi just rolled her eyes, and Johnny shared a laugh with Pierce.

"Why don't you quit chasing tail, and at least worry about someone other than yourself, and I'm pretty sure if they did kidnap you, they'd bring your bitching ass back" Shaundi said harshly, making Pierce wince at her words again.

"Shit, who lit the fuse on your tampon?" Pierce snapped back, only to be met with a slap across his face, knocking him off the stool and onto the floor.

"Just stating facts Pierce" Shaundi responded, not breaking eye contact with The Boss' figure, let alone looking in his direction. Johnny had gotten off his seat and helped Pierce up, as the latter rubbed his cheek and pressed the cool glass of his drink against it.

"Alright that's cool, I deserved that one" Pierce mumbled, and made his way through the crowd, and began to dance with a couple of girls, who quickly recognized him and eeped in excited.

The Boss chuckled to himself as he witnessed Shaundi slap Pierce to the ground, just as his bottle of champagne arrived. The young Saint grinned from ear to ear as he handed the large bottle to The Boss, who nodded in approval and sent him off.

"Maybe this time I can at least rest for once" The Boss said as he popped the cork off the bottle of champagne, and took a long swig of the bubbly alcohol. Once finishing off half the bottle in one long, deep chug he set it down on the railing and watched as the spotlights became a little fuzzy due to his buzz.

Just as the party was in full swing, a few unwelcome guests made their way into the penthouse filled with people dancing, drinking and enjoying themselves guns blazing, and sent hot lead throughout the building, ending those unfortunate to be caught in the crossfire.

"What the fuck!?" Johnny yelled as he pulled Shaundi behind the bar, and took cover from the men in red sprinting in their direction and firing off round after round towards the surrounded lieutenants.

"God they're everywhere!" Shaundi screamed as she covered her head from the falling debris of glass and marble from the bar, Johnny shielded her with his comparatively larger body and drew his KA-1 Kobra from within his jacket and fired blindly at their attackers.

The Boss immediately praised his paranoia as he leapt over the guard railing with his 45. Shepherd drawn and opened fire on the attackers, and allowed Johnny and Shaundi to make a beeline away from cover and over to The Boss who was drawing all of the goons attention to him and took most of them down with relative ease.

"Thanks Boss!" Shaundi shouted to The Boss, who only nodded in approval and ducked down behind cover to reload.

"Shaundi! Johnny!" The Boss hollered out as he reached under a couch and slid over a Gravedigger shotgun and a TEK Z-10 SMG over towards them. The couple quickly aimed their newly acquired weapons and fired upon the growing group of red clad goon.

The Boss crouched down next to Pierce and handed the latter his 45 Shepherd "Keep them off Shaundi and Johnny!" The Boss commanded over the gunfire, while Pierce quickly complied and fired from behind the couch.

The Boss made a quick sprint towards a wall and hid there until a recruit wearing a suit and sunglasses had walked past, not noticing him. The Boss grabbed the unsuspecting man from behind as he tried to hit The Boss with the stock of his K-8 Krukov in which The Boss easily dodged and stole the rifle. "Thanks, I've always wanted one of these!" The Boss cooed into the recruit's ear, grinning as he emptied the magazine into anyone wearing red, until nothing but bloody pulps of bodies littered the floor.

Shaundi, Johnny and Pierce looked at The Boss wide eyed as he was still grinning from ear to ear, the young recruit fell to the ground dead, his torso riddled with bullet holes as his comrades tried to shoot through him, but apparently no avail.

"What the fuck..." Shaundi said under her breathe as The Boss picked up a 45 Shepherd off of the recruits corpse, and walked along the dance floor flooded with bodies, and executed anyone who seemed alive.

"Boss what the fuck are you doing?" Johnny hollered out, even surprised at The Boss viciousness towards the injured.

"Taking out the trash" The Boss responded coldly, as he approached a woman who was crawling through the mass of bodies.

"Please...no..." She pleaded, The Boss only raised the pistol to her head as his face was featureless.

"You would do the same to us" The Boss replied, as he emptied the entire magazine into her head, until nothing but a bloody pulp of brain and skull fragments were left, Shaundi had gasped as she wasn't able to comment at all, while Pierce had shook a bit from fear of being next, The Boss turned his gaze towards his confused and frightened lieutenants.

"Can't even have a moment of peace in my own fucking penthouse" The Boss said, full of anger and haste as he pushed past them and began to make his way upstairs.

Until what felt like an earthquake heading towards them stopped The Boss dead in his tracks, as a giant monster sized man rushed at them like an aggravated bull seeing red.

"What the fuck is that thing!?" Pierce had screamed as he dropped The Boss' 45 Shepherd to the ground, and sprinted away until he was out of their line of sight.

"Holy shit!" The Boss and Johnny said in unison, as the overly large sized man pushed away the heavy couches they used for cover as if they were made of styrofoam and bulldozed its way past any Saints unfortunate to be in the way.

"Shaundi look out!" Johnny shouted as he fired upon the behemoth, trying to get its attention away from the cowering woman underneath him. Just as the monster turned, The Boss jumped onto its back and repeatedly punched its brick like head, but to no avail as the small truck sized man hurled The Boss off his back as if he were a rag doll and made his way towards Johnny, who was still firing on him with whatever ammo that remained.

"Boss!" Shaundi screamed as she ran towards the crumpled and twisted body of The Boss that had hit a glass wall, shattering it to pieces and leaving him face down inches away from the pool. Johnny on the other hand, was held tight within the giant's fist, as soon as he had the chance, Johnny reloaded his TEK Z-10 and sent bullets into the monster's head, finally killing it and releasing him.

The Boss sat up as if on command and shook his head, trying to shake off his immense head pain. "I'm fine" he said to Shaundi as she helped him up and the both of them continued firing on the remaining goons that lingered within the penthouse. Johnny stood over top of the corpse of the oversized man, and sent a couple more bullets into its head just for insurance.

"Damn, and I thought The Boss was invincible..." Johnny joked to himself, as The Boss and Shaundi made their way over to him.

"Yo Boss, enjoy your nap?" Johnny said with a chuckle, as The Boss just flipped him off and walked over a couple of bodies.

"Yeah it was very relaxing" he responded sarcastically

"So what now Boss" she questioned, looking over the sheer amount of dead bodies that littered the floor, The Boss just bent down and picked up a broken champagne bottle, then set the remains back down.

"Kill the assholes that fucked up my new place" The Boss threw over his shoulder as he proceeded outside onto the heli-pad, looking over the edge and noticing a large amount of red and black vehicles pulling out from the outside of the penthouse, and driving off into the distance.

After the bodies were cleared out, Pierce came out of his hiding spot, and acted as if he had single handedly cleared out the intruders. "Yo guys did you see how many of those assholes I killed?" Pierce gloated as Shaundi rolled her eyes, and Johnny burst into laughter.

"Yeah before or after you screamed like a girl and ran?" Johnny commented, making Shaundi laugh and Pierce lost his forced smile.

"Man fuck you!" Pierce said and stomped off upstairs.

The Boss came back inside and searched through the bar for a drink that wasn't riddled with bullets, or sucked. "Damn nothing..." The Boss said to himself, as he flipped a couch back over and stretched out on the tattered material.

Shaundi came over and sat on one of the arms of the couch, she looked over at The Boss and looked him over. Although not many people knew about her crush on The Boss, It was quite obvious at times, when she'd just stand there, staring at him, eyelashes fluttering like a schoolgirl checking out a high school boy.

"Shaundi?" The Boss' voice knocked Shaundi out of her thoughts and looked to the man she had just daydreamed about, Shaundi blushed as she realized she had been staring at The Boss the entire time.

Shaundi cleared her throat and responded as if nothing happened "Yeah what's up?" The Boss just looked at her confused, then proceeded with his question.

"You alright? You been staring at me for about 5 minutes" He continued

Shaundi looked away, embarrassed as she realized she was caught. "Well um...I was just making sure you were okay, that huge guy tossed you around a little more than necessary" Shaundi pretended to examine his face, as The Boss just ignored his thoughts and let it go.

Meanwhile, at The Morningstar's HQ. "What do you mean they're not dead!?" Loren's voice boomed throughout his office, as one his lieutenants that led the attack had informed him that The Saints were still alive.

"Sir, I'm sorry but we tried our best...The Saints… They're just, different than other street gangs-" The cowering lieutenant was cut off by Loren standing up and slamming his fists into his desk.

"This is unacceptable! I want those vermin dead!" Loren continued to shout as the lieutenant sunk down into his seat, his leader's words hitting him like a stirred wasp's sting.

"Get out of my office and get those pests out of MY city!" Loren commanded as the lieutenant jumped out of seat and left the room immediately, not looking back.

"Don't worry Phillipe, We'll take care of them" Viola had said reassuringly, her twin sister Kiki stood by her side.

"Viola's right, they will not be a problem for long." Kiki reassured. Loren sat back behind his desk, and grinned from ear to ear, a plan developing in his mind.

"Oh I know they will not be a problem for long..." He said as Viola and Kiki proceeded to leave his office, when they were stopped at the door.

"Oh and before you go, make sure we make a couple more brutes to welcome our new neighbors to Steelport..." Loren said with an evil laugh, as Viola and Kiki proceeded to do as they were told.

Loren sat back in his seat, and pulled up a picture of one of The Saints' lieutenants on his desktop. "Soon my dear, I will use you to bring your merciless leader to his knees" Loren's thick Belgian accent cut through the air as he continued to grin at the picture, and think out his plan.

Back at the penthouse, The Saints finished cleaning up the trashed interior and bodies that littered the floor, The Boss went to his room and showered, but as soon as he got out he noticed that Shaundi was on his bed, listening to music on her phone.

"Shaundi what the hell are you doing in my room?" The Boss questioned as he tightened his towel, Shaundi noticed and blushed.

"Oh I'm not sleeping on those bullet ridden, blood splattered couches!" she protested, earning a sigh from The Boss as he began to get dressed.

"Fine, but If you think I am sleeping on those couches, I'm throwing you out the window." The Boss threatened, Shaundi had responded by laughing as she kicked off her heels.

"I'd like to see you try" The Boss took that as a challenge and grabbed Shaundi off the bed, and wrestled with her. "You're going to get your ass kicked!" The Boss said, while laughing, and Shaundi struggled under his strength.

"Not fair! You cheated!" Shaundi whined as The Boss lifted her up, and headed out to the balcony next to his room.

"No! No!" Shaundi screamed as she squirmed away from The Boss and ran back inside, he proceeded to chase after her. "Get back here!" The Boss said as he tackled Shaundi and wrestled on the floor for a bit, until they were face to face, mere inches from each other's faces. Shaundi could feel The Boss' breathe on her cheek, as they burned up from the deep blush on her face.

"Looks like I win" The Boss said, breaking the silence, Shaundi just tried her best to stop herself from kissing him, but it was too tempting.

"Yeah...you win..." Shaundi finally spoke up as she got up off the floor and laid back in bed, The Boss soon joined and sat on the other side, he turned on the T.V and watched re-runs of Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax, and soon Shaundi drifted off to sleep as she moved closer to The Boss and used his arm as a pillow. Surprisingly he didn't object, and stroked her long brown hair.

After what seemed like mere minutes, Shaundi awoke to the break of dawn, realizing that she actually slept in The Boss' room, before that night she had never even stepped foot in it. After a quick yawn, she was lured downstairs by the sweet scent of pancakes as she noticed Johnny, and Pierce at the table eating. "Morning" Shaundi said, as she passed by the two men at the table, both only waving as their mouths were full of pancakes.

Shaundi proceeded to get some orange juice from the fridge, when she noticed The Boss was in front of the stove cooking more pancakes, Shaundi whistled at The Boss as she grabbed a glass and filled it with orange juice.

"That's what I like to see, a man in the kitchen" The Boss just chuckled and nodded his head at the counter, a huge stack of pancakes was there, and Shaundi grabbed the plate and smiled like a kid in a candy store, then made her way to the table and ate her pancakes while conversing with Johnny and Pierce, who still had their mouths stuffed with food.

"Chew your food" The Boss commented as he joined his lieutenants at the table, with his own Pierce and Johnny ignored The Boss' suggestion, and continued to talk with mouths full.

"So Boss, you and Shaundi fuck last night? I heard a lot of thumping last night coming from your room" Johnny said bluntly, making Shaundi do a spit take, spewing orange juice all over Pierce.

"What the fuck!?" Pierce shouted as he ran to his room, and cleaned himself up.

The Boss choked on his food, and coughed a bit before answering Johnny's question. "No we didn't...uh...I mean...shit..." Shaundi blushed at the thought, secretly wishing that what Johnny had said was true.

"No we were just wrestling, and then fell asleep" Johnny just chuckled, and continued attacking his pancakes.

After the devouring of pancakes, The Boss, Johnny, Pierce and Shaundi went downtown and took over some territory from The Morningstar, and also bought some businesses as well. Afterwards, they proceeded to have a pointless argument about Saints Flow, their new energy drink.

"I'm telling you, that shit tastes like...shit!" Johnny said, laughing afterwards "Man, It ain't my fault the energy drink tastes like shit, I just promote it!" Pierce cried, making Shaundi, The Boss and Johnny busted out into laughter.

Just a few miles away from their HQ, a semi-truck barreled through the streets, heading straight for the truck that The Boss, and his lieutenants occupied. Their truck barrel rolled many times, before they landed in a ditch in the middle of the park that they were passing by.

"Shit!" The Boss said as the truck landed in the ditch, the force of the hit against the dirt sent him a few feet away from the truck as it crashed, he black out for a few moments, only to see Shaundi getting dragged out of the wreckage by a couple of Morningstar goons.

"Let her go!" The Boss screamed at the top of his lungs and struggled to chase after their van that sped away. Johnny and Pierce soon followed suit, only to be winded after running half a mile. "Shit! They have Shaundi!" The Boss shouted as he continued to chase the van that was miles away by now.

"Boss she's gone!" Johnny shouted back as he collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavy, and Pierce did the same.

"No...No!" The Boss shouted as he continued running until his legs gave out, Johnny and Pierce had hijacked a car, and forced The Boss into the backseat, he struggled the entire time until Johnny knocked him out.

Afterwards, they soon were back at the penthouse and planned on what they were going to do about Shaundi being kidnapped. After a long pause, Pierce had an idea. "I know someone who can help" Pierce said, as he pulled his phone from his pocket and began dialing the number.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end said over the speaker, sounding a bit gruff.

"Yo man, Shaundi got nabbed. We're gonna need you over in Steelport" the man on the other end sighed, as sounds of movement were heard. "I'll be right there" the man said, before hanging up.

At The Morningstar's HQ, Shaundi was dragged into Loren's office, with a bag over her head. As soon as she was tied into a chair, the bag was ripped of her head, revealing the blinding light above, making her squint her eyes. She made out a tall figure, she knew who he was immediately.

"Well, well...looks like we have what we wanted, inform their leader, and tell them of our meeting arrangement, this time we are going to take them out for good." the man's thick accent flowed through Shaundi's head, and before she could tell him off, she passed out after feeling a blunt object hitting her in the back of her head, and before she went unconscious.


	2. Where did they take her?

**Authors Note: New chapter, As a reminder we are open to suggestions and opinions. We don't own anything except our OC's and plot. Review & Enjoy**

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**Chapter 2: Where did they take her!?**

The Boss paced around the room, his footsteps echoing throughout the empty penthouse.

A few hours had passed since Shaundi was kidnapped, everybody had cleared out the HQ almost in an instant just as The Boss slipped out of his escort's grip whom the latter was trying to calm and detain him, but instead The Boss proceeded to hurl furniture around the room, as he screamed obscenities and left broken, torn fabric and wood littered throughout the main area of the penthouse.

"Son-of-a-bitch!" The Boss screamed as he brought his fist through a couple walls, sending fragments of debris expelled throughout the area, he proceeded to grab any objects he could physically lift and threw them in all directions, each one making a pleasing shattering sound as they hit the walls, or floor.

After venting his anger, The Boss sat on the remnants of his favorite recliner. "I'm sorry Shaundi..." The Boss mumbled lowly to himself, as he lowered his head and took a deep breathe. A few brief moments of silence filled the air, until the elevator at the far end of the room opened.

The tall man walked through the wreckage of the penthouse, and made his way over to The Boss. Once stepping into the dimly lit part of the penthouse The Boss was currently wallowing in, the man's identity was revealed.

Tony was a recent recruit for The Saints, and once a revered hitman for The Montana Cartel, the once powerful group based out of Cuba and Columbia. His past couldn't be ignored due to his criminal history and skill in his art of business.

He met the leader of The Montana Cartel in Miami after hustling the crew out of their cash during a game of craps. After a few years of survival training and weapons handling, and mastering of stealth, he moved up the ranks of the cartel until he got in little bit of trouble with the U.S government more specifically the FBI, the leader of the cartel ended up sending him to Stilwater and made relations with The Saints, instead of The Carnales who had rejected Tony because of their past rivalry with Rico.

Tony sported a clean press black suit, along with a white dress shirt, and a black tie. His face was rough with a 5 o'clock shadow and raven colored hair which was always slicked back, and completed his outfit with a fedora atop his head. And wasn't until he finally spoke up was when The Boss had noticed him.

"And I thought Johnny had a bad temper..." Tony said coolly, as he crossed his arms and leaned against a glass window that wasn't shattered from The Boss' rage.

The Boss just responded with a sigh, and looked up towards Tony. "Look, I don't have time for bullshit right now, The Morningstar have Shaundi" Tony grinned at the mention of Shaundi's name, and before he could respond, he was met with a cold glare from The Boss, telling him to keep his opinions to himself.

"Well that's unfortunate, we'll get her back, Morningstar wouldn't risk killing Shaundi when Loren knows he can use her for negotiations" Tony drew a cigar from his jacket pocket, and ignited the tip, soon bringing it to his lips and inhaling the smoke.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm just wondering what they would want for her." The Boss got up from his seat and made his way over to Tony, and bummed a cigarette off him.

"Probably money, or territory. Or we could just be walking into an ambush as soon as we meet to negotiate." Tony responded as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs.

"I guess you're right there, anyways WE have to get her back, I've lost too many friends in the past, and I'm not losing another" The Boss stated as he stubbed out his smoke, and walked off to the armory.

Tony soon made his way to the armory a few minutes after The Boss did, once Tony walked in he admired the vast assortment of weapons that littered the walls and tables within the apartment sized room.

"Liking my stash?" The Boss said, knocking Tony out of his daze. He was sitting on a table, cleaning a 45 Shepherd

"Loving it" Tony responded, picking up a 44 Shepherd, and caressed the gun as if it were his newborn child.

"I see you've taken interest in our new piece of hardware" The Boss grinned and jumped off the table.

Tony had just nodded, holding the heavy weapon in his hands and enjoyed the feel of the cannon-like handgun.

The Boss just chuckled as he handed over a box of ammo, making Tony return his grin. "You're going to need some ammo, we're gonna get our girl back" The Boss went back over to the table and picked up the 45 Shepherd and slid it into his holster before making his way out of the armory.

Johnny and Pierce, along with a couple other Saints made their way into the armory after The Boss and Tony had their brief discussion, and made their way down to the garage and began loading up The Boss' personal vehicle, a black reinforced Criminal.

"Nice ride" Tony commented, whistling at polished piece of machinery in front of him.

"Thanks, just got it. Don't fuck it up" The Boss replied as he finished loading up the ammo and guns.

After waiting a few brief moments of waiting on the other Saints, The Boss and Tony, accompanied by Pierce and Johnny made their way downtown, and back to the park. Loren had tipped them off earlier to meet there if they wanted her back.

Not long after pulling up, The Saints had noticed a couple red Infuegos parked in front of them, guarded by Morningstar Specialists, and Brutes.

"Alright ladies, let's do this" Johnny said lowly as he exited the SUV, and made his way over to The Morningstar, cocking his K6 Krukov in the process, soon he was joined by the rest of the crew, including The Boss who was front and center.

After waiting a few brief moments, the occupants of the lead car exited, and revealed themselves to be Shaundi with a rag in her mouth, and being escorted by an unknown, and large African-American man who sported a dangerous look and a mischievous grin.

"Who the fuck is that?" The Boss questioned lowly and looked to Tony for an answer.

"Jones...Eric Jones" Tony had responded lowly near The Boss' ear, the man in question had made his way over to the group of Saints standing a few feet away, with a 44 Shepherd aimed against Shaundi's temple.

Eric Jones, or his nickname Magic, was also recent lieutenant that Loren had recruited awhile back, after a failed attempt of a bank robbery, and being subdued by police and tracked by deckers until his capture by Loren. And the latter leveraged Magic's life, against an opportunity in The Morningstar, in which he chose the best option in his opinion.

"Well...well, if it isn't my old friend, The Saint's Shadow himself..." Magic said with a chuckle as Shaundi tried struggling as soon as her teary eyes were laid upon The Boss and the other Saints.

"Let her go!" The Boss commanded, being held back by Pierce as Tony and Magic came face to face.

"Like he said, let her go, this is between me and you Jones..." Tony threatened, as Shaundi continued to struggle against her restraints.

"What you think you can threaten me..." Magic replied

"You may be the Saint's Shadow and all, but if you don't back up Steelport Waste Management is going to have some extra clean up duties" cocking the hammer back of his Revolver illustrating that he was growing impatient. Magic had grinned the entire time as The Boss tried to get to Shaundi, but to no avail.

"No, no..." Magic said as he pressed the barrel of his Revolver harder against Shaundi's temple, making more tears fall down her cheeks.

"We'll hand over 500K, but were not leaving Steelport" Tony had responded, presenting a briefcase full of money.

"Hmm...Awfully tempting, if you're not leaving, maybe another 100K and I'll let this little piece of ass go..." Magic said, while admiring the comparatively smaller woman he held against him.

"Fine, just take the money and leave the girl" Tony said, as he presented another briefcase, and kept his own Revolver at the ready.

Magic overlooked the impressive amount of money placed in front of him, and complied, after loading up the briefcases, he tossed Shaundi towards The Boss, and as if on que, she collapsed in his arms, bawling her eyes out.

Tony saw an opportunity, and drew his revolver, aiming for a shot at Magic's head, but was too late as a bullet struck him in the shoulder, seemingly Magic had prepared for Tony's betrayal, and fired seconds before Tony could take aim.

"Fuck!" Tony screamed as his body jerked back from the impact of the bullet, dropping his gun in the process, Johnny and Pierce reacted mere seconds later emptying their weapons into anyone wearing red, but they were too late. as Magic had loaded back into his Justice and took off, leaving a trail of smoke behind him, but a few Saints who were tucked behind a corner opened fire and gave chase for a short while.

"Let's go!" The Boss commanded, as he shielded Shaundi with his body, Johnny was covering Pierce as the latter was helping Tony back into the SUV and they tore off from the park, and raced throughout the streets making a beeline towards their HQ.

"Keep pressure on his wound!" The Boss shouted, as Pierce complied without a word and put pressure on Tony's arm, making him cry out in pain.

"Why didn't they go through?!" Tony said through clenched teeth, as blood made a river like path down his arm.

After what felt like a lifetime slipping past cars that crowded through the streets, Tony tried to stay conscious as he way losing blood, a lot of blood.

"Man, this muthafucka should donate blood, he's got a shitload!" Pierce cried, as he tried to keep pressure on the wound, after a few more brief minutes the group finally made it back to penthouse, carrying their wounded up to the top floor.

A few hours later, Tony woke up, numbness spread throughout his arm he was shot in.

"Ugh...shit" he mumbled to himself, as he noticed The Boss sitting in a chair a few feet away from the bed he was laying upon.

"Hey man, look I'm sorry about earlier, I should have been more cautious instead of risking your life like that" The Boss said, rubbing his neck and looking away.

"Don't worry Boss, its fine. I've been through shit like that all the time." Tony replied, mumbling a bit due to the anesthesia.

"Anyways, how's Shaundi?" The Boss gave a weak smile, and looked across the room, Shaundi was passed out in a chair with a few bandages and stitches that were on her arms and torso.

"She's fine, a little beat up and scarred but fine" The Boss drew a smoke from his jacket, and offered one to Tony, whom declined.

"So who was that Eric Jones douche back there?" The Boss questioned as he lit his cigarette and took a long drag.

Tony sat up as he cleared his throat and told the story of how he had come to know Magic, and how they became enemies.

_Years ago_

_Tony had just met up with Rico, The Leader Of The Montana Cartel. Whom the latter had slipped Tony a package filled with money, and a portfolio of his next target._

_"Kill this man, he is Ex-Military and will be a bit tougher than your usual hits amigo" Rico had said, with a bit of complication due to his thick Cuban accent. Tony got up from his seat, not saying a word and let his actions speak for themselves._

_After reading over the profile, he arrived at a home in the suburbs, a Military Humvee occupied the driveway, informing Tony that he was at the right place. He put the silencer on his Five-Seven handgun, and exited his Nelson. Tony made a beeline for the backyard, and snuck in the backdoor, which was surprisingly unlocked._

_After quietly stepping throughout the interior of his victim's home, and just when he thought this job was getting too easy, up until he heard the cocking of a shotgun behind him, and a cold steel barrel pressed against the back of his head._

_"Turn around slowly..." The man behind his commanded, as Tony complied, stashing his gun within his jacket pocket, and turned to face his hit victim._

_"One of Rico's boys huh?" The large African-American man had stated, as he motioned for Tony to take a seat on the couch to their side, in which he complied as well, and just nodded at his question._

_"I thought so, he's sent a couple of guys to kill me before, just 'cause I walked out after being his bodyguard for a bit." The larger man sat down across from Tony, chuckling a bit as he cocked his shotgun again, Tony hardly flinched as the gun was aimed towards his crotch._

_"And I guess you already know about me, and If you don't. My name is Eric Jones." Jones had grinned, and before pulling the trigger of his shotgun._

_Tony pulled out his pistol, and fired a couple shots in Jones' direction before taking cover behind a wall, as Jones fired off a couple shots himself, only landing a couple pellets within Tony's leg, whom the latter had yelled out in agony as he pressed himself against a wall for cover._

_After reloading his pistol, Tony made a run for the front door, shooting blindly behind him as he kicked open the door and sprinted for his car, soon Jones gave chase until Tony sped off into the distance, leaving tire marks in his way, and went over to Rico's mansion to inform him, of his failure._

"Yeah, and after that Rico tanned my hide" Tony said, wincing and remembered the punishment he had received from Rico after he got there. The Boss just looked at Tony, feeling pity towards the injured man.

"Don't worry Tony, we'll get that bastard" The Boss replied reassuringly, as he went over to Shaundi, whom the latter had begun to wake up.


	3. An Unplanned Succession

**Author's Note: Just wanted to say myself and J3FAwesome appreciate the views, and let us know what you think. Enjoy**

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**Chapter 3: An Unplanned Succession**

As Shaundi had opened her eyes, she looked up to see The Boss, whom was sitting next to her, the look of worry written all over his face.

"Hey, you feeling alright?" The Boss had said lowly, as he helped Shaundi sit up, she only nodded and took a sip from the water bottle next to her.

After sharing a few moment of silence, The Boss and Shaundi had slowly leaned in to each other, until they were mere centimeters apart.

"Well, look who's awake" Johnny's voice echoed throughout the near empty penthouse, making the couple jump.

"Damnit Johnny..." Shaundi mumbled, as she pulled away from The Boss, who also was a bit upset about Johnny's interruption.

After a brief exchange of words, Tony had made his way over to the group, bandages still around his arm which was revealed by his muscle shirt.

"Thanks for your concern Gat, not like I was shot or anything..." Tony said, taking a cigarette from his pant pocket, and lit it up.

Johnny just rolled his eyes from under his dark shades, and let out a dark chuckle.

"Whatever new blood, just because The Boss trusts you, doesn't mean I do" Johnny said coldly, earning him a glare from Shaundi and The Boss.

Tony just stayed quiet, as he normally did and took a long drag of his cigarette, and released a cloud of smoke, he then made his way over to the bar and fixed himself a drink, hearing bits and pieces of the conversation behind him.

"Johnny what the fuck is wrong with you?" Shaundi said in a hushed tone, so that Tony wouldn't hear.

"The fuck is wrong with me?" Johnny replied, sounding offended by what Shaund had said.

"What's wrong with that motherfucker who let his ass get shot by some Morningstar lackey!" Johnny shouted, catching Tony's attention, he had smashed his drink against the bar, and stormed over to Johnny who crossed his arms as Tony and he came face to face.

"You got a problem with me, say it to my face" Tony commanded, as The Boss tried separating them but instead Shaundi grabbed his arm tightly and made him stay.

"Yeah I do got a problem with you" Johnny shot back, as cracked his knuckles as Tony's eyes burned into his, the latter only clenched and unclenched his fists trying to withhold his anger.

"Well then, do something about it" Tony said as he stepped back a few feet and spread his arms out in surrender.

"Johnny...don't" The Boss said lowly, as he recognized the look in Johnny's eyes, pure rage was in them as he stalked towards Tony, coiled to strike at any moment.

After a few seconds of dead silence, Johnny charged at Tony and tackled him into a wall sending drywall fragments in all directions, Tony had gripped Johnny's head with his right arm, as he used his left to smash his fist into Johnny's upper back until he let go, Pierce had come running down the stairs, wide eyed as Shaundi held back The Boss with all her might, until Pierce helped hold him back.

"Boss stop! Let them settle it! " Pierce called out, as he gripped The Boss' arm.

Once Johnny released Tony, they exchanged blows and took turns slamming each other into the nearest objects they ran into.

Once they made their way near one of the glass walls, Tony had gripped Johnny by the collar of his while the latter did the same and threw each other into the wall breaking in an instant sending them outside near the pool.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!" Johnny screamed in pure fury as he sat over top of Tony who was laid on the ground as Johnny's fist connected with Tony's face several times until the latter grabbed a piece of glass and slashed at Johnny's arm, leaving a deep cut along his bicep.

"Rarrgh fuck!" Johnny cried out in pain, as he continued beating Tony.

"That's enough!" The Boss shouted over their grunts of frustration and anger as he and Pierce pulled Johnny off Tony.

"Gat calm the fuck down!" Pierce shouted, as Johnny tried lunging for Tony while he was held back by Shaundi.

"I said enough!" The Boss commanded as he socked Johnny in his face, knocking him onto the ground clenching his bloody nose, and proceeded to do the same to Tony.

"When I say that's enough, you listen to me understand!?" The Boss shouted at the top of his lungs, and stomped back inside, Johnny and Tony got off the ground and took a quick glance at each other before huffing in disgust and went their separate ways, Johnny proceeded up the stairs to try and talk to The Boss as Pierce and Shaundi followed Tony to the elevator.

"Tony wait!" Shaundi hollered as Tony hit the button for the garage.

"Fuck!" Shaundi screamed as she slammed her fists against the closed elevator doors, Tony made his way over to his Black Nelson and raced through the streets of Steelport until arriving at his safehouse.

After a few hours of arguing between The Boss and Johnny, Shaundi had sent a message to Tony telling him to meet them at Powder; a custom gunshop in Steelport that they were going to hit and steal from The Morningstar.

Once getting patched up, and cleaning up the mess Johnny and Tony had made, The Boss and his lieutenants had piled into his Escalade and headed towards Powder.

Entering and parking in a back alley, they noticed a figure leaning against a wall, a lit cigarette between his fingers, and fedora lowered to hide his face, only showing a few of his butterfly bandages.

"Looks like Tony didn't want miss out on this shit, even after earlier" The Boss said, chuckling a bit. Shaundi's mood seemed to lighten up a bit after seeing that Tony was alright, and a smile formed across her face.

"Well then, let's not keep 'em waiting" Johnny said coolly, as he loaded his D4TH Blossom and exited The Boss' Criminal, and made his way over to Tony, who hadn't moved a muscle since they pulled up.

Soon The Boss and Shaundi made their way over, only to see Johnny trying to get Tony to talk, but his only response was ignoring Johnny by not paying him any attention, and finishing off his smoke.

"You ready for this?" The Boss asked, pulling out his 45 Shepherd, Tony nodded and tossed the butt of his cigarette towards the asphalt and stomped it under his heel, and made his way to the back area of Powder.

Spotting a Morningstar guard, everyone took cover except Tony, whom proceeded over to the unexpecting guard.

"Tony?! What the fuck!" The Boss whispered loudly, and before he could question anymore, Tony had flipped open the left side of his long, black duster coat, and in one swift moment he flipped out his switchblade and delivered a deep gash across the guards jugular, killing him instantly.

"Not bad..." Johnny said, nodding in approval, as The Boss' and Shaundi's mouths were agape towards Tony's sudden aggression.

"Come on..." Tony whispered, as the other three Saints made their way over. And as if out of a police movie, he kicked open the back door with full force knocking it off the hinges, and drew his 44. Shepherd, which glistened under the bright light inside and emptied his rounds into The Morningstar inside, whom were packing up some boxes.

Not long after, more Morningstar poured into the room, but were easily cut down by The Boss and Johnny who had taken cover behind a couple of boxes and emptied their magazines into their unsuspecting enemies.

After clearing the area, the squad like Saints made their way up the stairs, into an area filled with multiple pathways, and many open gaps as well.

Just before they could make their way over to the offices that were clear across the room, a shot rang out, smashing into a wall near Johnny's head, which was a little too close for comfort.

"Shit!" Johnny screamed as he took cover behind a couple metal sheets, The Boss, Shaundi and Tony did the same, and tried firing on their unknown assailant.

"It's a sniper!" Tony hollered out over the gunfire, he peaked through a small crack a bullet had made near him.

Hidden behind a couple crates, a Morningstar Specialist was laying prone on the ground, covered by a couple of regular Morningstar goons with K8 Krukovs.

"I'll distract them, you guys move up!" Tony said, as he jumped out from behind cover before anybody could object, blindly firing at The Morningstar, immediately grabbing their attention giving his colleagues the chance to move up and flank.

Just before he made it to cover, a bullet grazed Tony's temple, making him collapse against a wall seconds later. Shaundi had looked over watching Tony run, then the bullet hitting him. She screamed, and became worried and as if on que, she ran over to help, leaving The Boss and Johnny to take out The Morningstar and their sniper.

"Tony? Tony!" Shaundi yelled, as she nudged Tony's lifeless like body, until his stirred around and soon sat up

"Shit that hurt..." he said as The Boss and Johnny made their way over, after gathering the information they needed.

They noticed the blood on the side of his head, Johnny chuckled at Shaundi who looked dumbfounded, and The Boss who seemed more relieved that his new lieutenant wasn't dead.

"You scared me!" Shaundi yelled, as she helped Tony up, he immediately apologized and the four Saints made their way out of the building and loaded into The Boss' Criminal.

"So you get what we came here for?" Shaundi questioned, as she cleaned Tony's wound, in reply just let her instead of objecting.

"Yeah we got it" Johnny said, holding up a folder filled with documents.

"We know where that asshole Loren is, and were gonna take them down for good" The Boss said, immediately heading away from their route to The HQ and headed downtown towards one of the largest skyscrapers in Steelport.

After waiting a few blocks away for Pierce and a couple more Saints to show up so they can start their attack.

Hours passed, as the afternoon sky soon drifted towards sundown, Johnny was sitting the passenger side cleaning his D4TH Blossom, and The Boss was playing Zombie Uprising on his phone, and cursing silently to himself.

In the backseat, Shaundi had fell asleep with her head on Tony's chest, he only responded by stroking her ebony colored hair as she silently slept.

After a few more Purple colored vehicles pulled up, they all proceeded to The Morningstar's HQ, entering through the back delivery dock that was flooded with Morningstar.

"Let's do this!" The Boss shouted as each Saint vehicle had spun around, creating a barrier in which they used as cover.

Tony and Johnny snuck around the side and flanked a couple of Morningstar hiding behind a semi-truck.

"Nice shot!" Johnny commented, as Tony had gotten a headshot on all of them.

After thinking they cleared out The Morningstar in the loading dock, The Boss along with his lieutenants made their way over to the elevator, only to be ambushed by a Brute.

But surprisingly was brought down by the crowd of Saints in front, all of whom had emptied their guns into the large man, who hit the ground with a loud THUD.

Once entering the elevator, The Saints were stopped short from reaching Loren's office, when the elevator stopped short, and made the occupants shift and nearly fall over from the sudden stop.

"Did you really think you could just waltz into my office when I control the building?" Loren's thick french accent blared over the speakers, The Boss, Johnny, Shaundi, and Tony exited the elevator, and took out a couple of Morningstar that were guarding the elevator.

"Come on! Follow me!" The Boss commanded, as the other three Saints did so, taking down any Morningstar mooks that got in the way. After passing by what looked like cloning pods, they had came face to face with not an ordinary Brute, but one that wielded a Flamethrower.

"Shit, watch out!" Shaundi screamed, as the flames were inching closer and closer, burning anything it came into contact with.

Tony had climbed over the railing next to him, and slowly made his way behind The Brute, The Boss and Johnny had taken cover behind a couple of crates, and soon Shaundi joined them, and slapped The Boss' shoulder which had caught on fire.

"Ow! Shit!" he complained, as he touched the scorched skin, and Johnny blindly fired at the brute.

After sneaking up behind the brute, Tony had grinned and pulled out his Revolver.

"Say goodnight you freak of nature" Tony said, as he shot the gas canisters on the brutes back, making the large man spin around in circles on the floor until exploding, and sending shrapnel flying in all directions.

"Come on, let's get that french fuck" Tony said, as The Boss, Johnny, and Shaundi had came out from behind cover, and headed up the stairs, until they encountered the source of all the mutated freaks.

"What the fuck is this shit..?" The Boss questioned as the others joined him, all sharing a look of confusion, and worry.

"Holy shit...that's one big...dude" Johnny commented, as the large Brute had lifted his head, he was strung up against a wall and had wires of all sorts and monitors in front of him.

"Phillipe likes his things custom-made, and for his Brutes, I am the master pattern, you see " His thick Russian accent had filled their ears, as The Boss lowered his head, to not be looking at the Brutes manhood that was near his.

"Why are you still strung up if they already cloned your ass?" Pierce says after following a while later.

"The copies are flawed. They have my brawn but not my brain I can help" Says the big russian "The last time a big naked dude said he could help me, it did not end well." Whispered piece near the boss.

"What could he do anyway? Those wires and shit are probably keeping him alive "Said Shaundi in an almost sarcastic tone

"Trust me, I'm still strong enough to kill Phillipe" Said the brute in confidence

"Let's get this guy down" The Boss said, as him and the other Saints opened fire on the on the consoles.

The Brute fell to the floor, landing with his left leg bent forward, and right knee to the ground. As he rose, the height difference was substantial as he moved over towards the comparatively smaller men, and woman.

"Sure you don't want some clothes before you knock someone out with that elephant trunk you got?" Johnny questioned, making The Boss and Tony chuckled, Shaundi just looked away, trying to keep herself from laughing.

"No time" The Brute said as he charged through the locked door ahead, and The Saints followed

"So what do we call you" Tony asked, making sure his revolver was locked and reloaded.

"My name is Oleg Kirrlov" The big man replied,

"So... what did you do before you were a glorified pin cushion?" Shaundi asked

"I think it's best for our friendship I never elaborate. Just know that the enemy of your enemy is your As long as you oppose The Syndicate, you have nothing to fear from me " Oleg replied.

"Works for me, Welcome to the saints" said the boss after heading up a staircase and made their way to Loren's office, only to be met by Loren's guards.

"Go Boss, we'll cover you!" Johnny hollered out, as The Boss slipped his way through the crowd of Saints and Morningstar.

"Looks like I have a visitor..." Loren said to himself, as he loaded his .500 S&W and awaited The Boss' arrival. Loren was currently alone as Viola, Kiki, Killbane, Matt, and Magic had left earlier to handle some business on the other side of town.

Before The Boss entered Loren's office, the latter's phone began to ring, after a few moments of staring at the caller I.D, Loren picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello?" shouts and cars honking could be heard in the background, as the caller's breathing was heavy. "Boss! Matt called and said the HQ is under attack! I'm on my way!" Magic's voice came out of the speaker.

"Good, but don't hurry, I have some business to handle" Loren responded, grinning as he hung up and drew a cigarette from within his jacket, and lit it up.

Moments of silence overfell Loren's office, as he came face to face with The Leader Of The Saints.

"Well, well...If it isn't the nuisance that has caused me so much misery..." Loren gloated, breaking the silence.

"And If it isn't the asshole who almost killed my best friend" The Boss shot back, cocking back the hammer of his Desert Eagle, Loren chuckled.

"You really think you intimidate me Saint?" Loren teased, lifting his own gun and aimed for The Boss' head.

"Do not mourn your friends, you will be joining them soon" Loren's grin grew wider, as his self-absorbent cockiness attitude was coming out.

"I'm not the only one leaving here in a bodybag" The Boss said lowly, as he fired the first shot, knicking Loren's shoulder, in response Loren let the lead fly, and fired blindly at The Boss as he ducked for cover, and fired off a couple shots of his own.

After seeing The Boss had taken cover, Loren flipped his desk and used it as a shield, just when The Boss popped up and fired into the thick marble table, trying to penetrate but to no avail.

"Fuck!" The boss cursed, as he ducked back down and reloaded as Loren launched himself over the desk, and fired a couple more shots and he made his way around, to flank The Boss.

As The Boss was finished reloading, immediately jumped up and fired a couple more shots at Loren's desk, thinking he was dead he slowly made his way to see behind it.

"What the fu-" The Boss was cut off mid-sentence, as he noticed Loren was gone, and seconds later a bullet ripped through his chest from behind, sending him flying forward onto the ground, sounds of him gasping for air filled the ambiance, as Loren made his way over, laughing cockily, and pressed the barrel of his gun against The Boss' head.

Just before Loren pulled the trigger, Oleg busted open the door, and was followed by Johnny, Shaundi and Tony who had their guns raised, and ready to fire. Loren cursed in French, as he turned his attention from The Boss to the group of Saints headed his way, he raised his own gun and snatched The Boss' signature gun from his dying corpse and made his way to the express elevator, escaping seconds before The Saints reached him.

"Damnit!" Tony cursed, as he slammed his fist against the closed elevator doors, the group immediately turned their attention to The Boss, who was gargling his own blood, as he struggled to breathe.

Shaundi and Johnny dropped to his side, trying to stop the bleeding as much as they could, but a puddle of The Boss' own blood surrounded him.

Tony looked to Shaundi's teary eyes, which fueled the rage inside him, and looked towards another mode of transportation.

"There's no way you can catch him! That was an express elevator!" Oleg called out, as Tony made his way over to a spherical shaped chandelier, and grabbed hold of the bottom.

"Fuck that, break this loose!" Tony commanded, and Oleg complied breaking the counterweight wires, and sending the immense ball of metal free falling down story, after story.

"I'm coming for you frenchie!" Tony threatened as Loren came into his line of sight. While exiting the elevator, and walking halfway through the loading dock, Loren stopped for a moment and lit up a smoke, and enjoyed his victory over The Saints, and looked over The Boss' custom 45 Shepherd he snatched from him earlier.

Admiring the gold inlay, but huffing in disgust at the Purple Fleur-De-Lis symbol on the handles.

"Will probably have to change that" Loren said, as tires screeching was heard, and Magic pulled up and tackled Loren out of the way of the giant ball's path of destruction as it smashed into the ground.

While Shaundi, Johnny and Oleg were loading The Boss into his truck, Shaundi had looked back at The Morningstar's HQ, worrying about Tony and took off.

"Johnny, get The Boss to the hospital, I'm gonna get Tony!" Shaundi threw over her shoulder, as she sprinted towards the back loading dock of The Morningstar's HQ, instead of objecting, Johnny had complied and took off towards the nearest hospital, while Oleg went back and followed Shaundi.

Tony fell from the top of the ball, and was stunned from the impact. Until he saw Magic helping up Loren and they were going to get away Tony quickly whipped out his gun, and shot at them, missing every shot as his vision began to blur from smoke that filled the air.

After giving a short chase, Tony fell to the ground as a bullet ripped through his leg, he screamed in agony, as he clutched the wound.

Magic, and Loren waltz over, both with cocky grins on their face. Magic was holding the smoking gun, The Boss' gun to be exact, and handed it over to Loren.

"Why don't you add this one to your list of executed Saints?" Magic said to Loren, as the latter had cocked back the hammer and aimed for Tony's head.

"Send your Boss my regards" Loren gloated, and Tony closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

A gunshot rang through Tony's ears, but he didn't feel the impact of a bullet, and was knocked out of his trance when he saw Shaundi standing over Loren, and shouting as she fired at Magic who slipped away, and got back into his car and took off.

Shaundi looked back, and saw Tony attempting to sit up, she had just grabbed The Boss' gun from Loren's corpse, and walked over, offering a helping hand and slipping the gun into her waistband.

"Why did you save me? The Boss was the only one who really trusted me" Tony questioned, as Shaundi helped him over to an abandoned Morningstar's Justice, and helped him in.

"Because, he wasn't the only one..." Shaundi responded, fighting back tears, and headed towards the hospital.

After an awkwardly quiet car ride, and muffled sounds that Tony made as he tried to keep pressure on his leg, they arrived to the hospital that was buzzing with doctors and nurses.

After making their way to The E.R, Tony and Shaundi spotted Johnny being held down to a chair by a couple of Saints, as they tried to control his anger, after peeking into The Boss' room, Tony noticed that he wasn't moving or breathing.

"Oh...god..." was all Tony could say, as Shaundi caught a glimpse, and immediately broke down and sobbed right then and there.

"Boss? You can't leave " was all Shaundi could say lowly while sobbing on tony.

Tony tried to comfort her, until he was dragged away by doctors who noticed his injury and put him in onto an operating table, the last thing Tony saw was a mask being put over his face, then everything slipped to darkness, and he heard nothing but muffled voices, and Loren's words that echoed throughout his head.

"Send your Boss my regards" I will...Tony said to himself, as he finally succumbed to the anesthesia that was in his lungs, and morphine injected into his body.


	4. A Time For Mourning

**Author's Note: Here is a new chapter thanks for the reviews and views. Continue to let us know how we are doing. Enjoy**

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**Chapter 4: A Time For Mourning**

The next day, Tony awoke from his deep slumber, still feeling the effects of the anesthesia and morphine he had in his system.

He slowly sat up, feeling the IV wires rubbing up against his arm as he got adjusted, a few moments later the door to his room slowly creaked open, and Shaundi stepped in, wearing a forced smile and using her sunglasses to hide her red, and puffy eyes. But dried tears were still present on her cheeks.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" Shaundi questioned lowly, as she took a seat on the edge of Tony's hospital bed, he had moved over a bit and made room.

"Well, seeing as I'm high on drugs and can't feel shit I guess pretty good" Tony joked, which earned only a small chuckle from the brunette beside him.

"That's good, I'm glad you're okay..." Shaundi replied, placing her hand on Tony's good shoulder.

"Speaking of...how are you doing?" Tony questioned, as Shaundi took off her sunglasses and looked at Tony, a look of sadness still present on her face.

"Heartbroken, I just still can't believe he's gone" Shaundi managed to say before she had sobbed for a bit, until Tony had tried consoling, but to no avail.

"I'm fine" Shaundi lied, as she got up and tried calming herself down.

Johnny poked his head in slowly, seeing Shaundi upset he didn't want to get involved until she had calmed, then interrupted.

"Yo, we gotta get going and get The Boss' funeral set up" Johnny interrupted, making the couple jump, and look in his direction.

"Yeah, let's go" Shaundi said, immediately getting up from the bed and exiting, Tony stood up on one leg, and Johnny helped him onto his crutches.

"Yo I don't know what's going on, but just watch out for her alright?" Johnny said lowly, Tony just nodded in response and they both made their way outside and loaded into Johnny's Purple Torch.

After a quiet car ride to the morgue, The Saints got out of Johnny's car and made their way inside, the receptionist instantly recognized the group and led them to the back area, where The Boss' corpse was getting dressed.

As soon as Shaundi caught a glimpse of The Boss, she quickly hid behind Johnny. Tony put his head down, and mumbled some words in spanish, as they slowly approached the table.

After picking out, and help dressing The Boss, Johnny, Shaundi and Tony had made their way to another area of the morgue, where Pierce was awaiting them to pick out a coffin.

Magic had gotten a call from one of The Morningstar recruits who had been sent to find Loren's body. "Boss, we found Loren but he's...dead" Magic was caught by surprise.

"Bring him to the morgue" was all Magic responded with mostly because he was still in shock, as he hung up and conference called Killbane, Matt, Kiki, and Viola.

"Hey, everybody" Magic said, in which they all responded with an awkward "Hi" and questioned why he conference called them.

"Well I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news...but the guys found Loren, but he's dead..." Viola and Kiki gasped, Killbane had did a spit-take from his coffee (mostly due to it being hot) and Matt stayed silent.

"Meet me at the morgue, we're getting him cremated" Magic added, then hung up and sighed.

"FUCK! I thought you had it covered" Magic said while driving to the morgue.

A few hours later, on the other side of town, a couple of Morningstar had pulled up and began unloading Loren's body to another morgue were Viola, Kiki, Killbane, Magic, and Matt were waiting.

All of whom had some sort of sadness that filled them. Magic was comforting Kiki and Viola who were currently sobbing, since Loren was the one man who gave them a great opportunity of running certain parts of The Morningstar to him they were businesswomen, not a fetish.

Magic even felt sadness fill him, as he blamed himself for Loren's death, and that he could have helped instead of thinking Loren could handle it himself, and taking off.

Killbane wore a false expression of sadness, as he only thought since Loren was dead, he could take the position of being The Syndicate's leader, and have Steelport at his fingertips.

Matt on the other hand, was the complete opposite, ever since he and Loren had met in Britain a few months ago, he thought highly of him, and respected Loren.

Although, he was a bit cocky and overconfident, Matt still looked up to him, and felt excruciating pain inside, of losing his mentor.

Viola had moved closer to Magic, and wrapped her arms around his waist, and dug her head into his chest, trying to hold back her sobs, Kiki had calmed herself down and comforted Matt, who was still in shock.

"Everything's gonna be alright, once this has passed, were going to take down those pesky little runts" Killbane roared, breaking the sad ambiance, Magic had just glared at him before going back to comforting Viola, who had seemed to calmed down slightly.

"But this is also a day for mourning" Killbane said quickly, adding a touch of sadness in his voice. Magic, along with Viola paid no mind, until a couple of Morningstar walked in, carrying Loren's corpse in their arms, they set him down on a gurney and began to get him dressed to be cremated.

Viola and Kiki leaned over Loren's lifeless body, and gently kissed his forehead, and said their final goodbyes, Matt had came over and placed the first piece of technology Loren had gotten him on his chest, and said his goodbyes.

Killbane walked over, lowly chanting a Luchadore's prayer, and said his goodbyes.

Magic was the last one to say goodbye, and when one of The Morningstar recruits who had brought him in, began wheeling the gurney over to the furnace.

Magic stood back and watched Loren passed by, he began to remember his past, and regrets. And then Tony had came in to mind, immediately angering Magic, as he remembered their first encounter, and botched hit. While Loren's body was put into the furnace, The Syndicate lieutenants watched the flames dance, as Loren's corpse burned, and ashes filled the tray below.

"You're gonna pay Saint's, I promise you that..." Magic mumbled lowly to himself

Killbane broke the silence, after Loren's ashes were put in an urn "So while were all gathered here, i'm leading an attack on The Saints, one of my informants had tipped me off that their holding their leader's funeral in Stilwater" Magic jumped out of his seat, and came face to face or really face to chest with Killbane.

"Today is a day for mourning, not revenge!" he stated, building up Killbane's anger

"They attacked us without warning! Why should we not hit while they're not expecting it?" Killbane roared, making Matt tremble

"Correction they attacked while we wasn't there, besides it's not what we do, we aren't common street thugs, end of discussion" Magic said as he turned his back on Killbane, in turn had grabbed his shoulder, and spun him back around.

"This is not over." Killbane said lowly, Magic had only smacked away his hand, thought about attacking but played it cool and decided upon a compromise, also not wanting to fight in front of Kiki, Viola, Magic made up an excuse to get them away from the argument

"Hey, why don't you guys go spread Loren's ashes across the ocean, while me and Killbane "talk"?" The quickly complied and left, eager to get away from Killbane, and as soon as they were out of the door, Magic looked up at Killbane.

"Look, I wanna kill them as much as you do but right now nor at the funeral is the best or right time have some respect for the fallen but look how about you attack them, after the funeral let's say on the bridge?" Magic suggested while smiling

Catching Killbane's attention, in which he replied by grinning and patting the smaller man's "That's more like it""

After picking out a coffin for The Boss, Johnny and Pierce had went off to find a spot for The Boss at the cemetery in Stilwater, and hire funeral staff.

While Shaundi had contacted a couple of old friends of The Boss who were in Stilwater. Everyone had reacted the same way, being surprised at first, then on the brink of sobbing.

The Boss had made many friends over the years (not just enemies) and most of them that were still alive, were more than willing to attend his funeral. After a few calls, Shaundi had become upset, and felt the same way that the unexepecting friends of The Boss did.

Hours passed by, and soon The Saints regrouped at The HQ and had to have the discussion they all had been dreading, leadership.

As soon as everyone had arrived, and took a seat in the main area, they had began. "Yo so who's gonna run The Saints?" Johnny questioned, all eyes immediately fell upon him, and he realized why they had their eyes on him.

"Whoa, whoa...no way" Johnny protested, raising his hands.

"Gat, you were The Boss' second-in-command, you gotta take his place!" Pierce said, earning a glare from Johnny, making him sink down in his seat.

"Pierce is right Johnny" Shaundi finally spoke up, holding back her emotions at the mention of their new leader.

"Fuck that..." Johnny blurted out, sitting back, kicking his feet up on a coffee table, and crossing his arms.

"Then who's gonna do it? Pierce? Shaundi said sarcastically, making Pierce jerk his head in her direction, as if she had slapped him across the face.

"The fuck's that supposed to mean?" Pierce replied, being offended by Shaundi's sarcasm.

"What I mean is, none of us are capable of running things, like The Boss did anyways" said Shaundi

Seeing as there was no choice, Tony stood up on his injured leg, not putting too much pressure and spoke up.

"I'll do it" he said, grabbing everyone's attention, especially Shaundi's, whom the latter looked up in concern, and jumped up.

"No! Um...I mean...it's a hard position Tony..." Shaundi tried recovering, but everyone already knew what her true intentions of objecting were.

"I know it is, but somebodies gotta do it" Tony replied to Shaundi, Johnny got up and came face to face with Tony.

"You sure 'bout this?" "You're gonna have to show them you're the real deal though... they won't just follow anybody". Johnny questioned, looking over to Shaundi who seemed to be pleading for an excuse.

"Yes, I'm sure" Tony said confidently,

Pierce only sighed. "Man I never get a chance" he mumbled lowly to himself, Johnny just patted Tony's shoulder in approval.

"Good luck, Boss" Johnny said, before walking over to the bar and fixing himself a drink.

"Now, who's going to speak at his funeral?" Johnny questioned, and again all eyes fell onto him.

"Come on!" he complained, making Tony and Pierce chuckle.

"Face it Johnny, you have to do something..." Shaundi replied, grinning as she sat back down with Tony, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Fine I'll do it" Johnny threw his arms up in defeat, and downed his drink.

After a few more hours of planning for The Boss' funeral the next day, Tony made his way up to his room and laid down on his bed.

Staring up at the ceiling, he remembered the first time him and The Boss had met, and he first laid eyes upon the beautiful brunette that he had began to get feelings for.

_A Few Months Ago_

_Tony had arrived at Purgatory, the Saint's hideout. Before leaving Miami, his former boss Rico had told him to meet up with The Saints in Stilwater, in which Tony was confused at first, but complied once the feds had shown up._

_"Looks like the place" Tony mumbled to himself, as he walked up to the entrance of Purgatory, and was met by a couple of Saints guarding the elevator doors._

_"You lost?" The tall, muscular Saint questioned, Tony just shook his head in response and tried to force his way past, until the Saint's hand slammed into his chest sending Tony back._

_"Where the fuck you think you're going?" the other Saint asked, as he flashed his Glock 17 in the waistband of his jeans, immediately Tony drew his own gun, and aimed for The Saint's head, making him cower in fear._

_"Get your leader out here, now" Tony commanded, as the other Saint whipped out his phone and called The Boss._

_"Yo" The Boss' voice came out from the speaker_

_"Yo Boss, this guy out here's got a gun to Ricky's head, and he wants to talk to you" The Saint said, The Boss only cursed and hung up._

_Seconds later the elevator doors opened and The Boss, along with Johnny, Shaundi and Pierce had stormed out with guns in hand._

_"Who the fuck are you, and why are you threatening my Saints?" The Boss roared, as he helped the cowering Saint up, and put his gun to Tony's head._

_"Look, my old boss told me to come here and meet up with The Saints" Tony responded, as he holstered his gun. Shaundi stepped forward, who had recently changed her appearance for her new T.V show._

_As soon as Tony laid eyes on Shaundi, he admired her feminine curves, and long, flowing ebony hair._

_Soon the cocking of Johnny's shotgun knocked Tony out of his trance, and proceeded to explain himself, after a few more minutes and words being exchanged, The Boss gave Tony a shot, in which he proved himself useful, and was soon The Saint's personal hitman, and lieutenant._

A knock at Tony's door caught his attention. "Come in!" Tony called out, due to his leg injury he couldn't get up and answer the door even if he wanted to, soon Shaundi slowly opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

"Hey, I just came up to check on you" Shaundi sat beside Tony, and looked at his bandaged leg. "I'm fine, docs put me on some pain meds so I can't feel shit" Tony joked, making Shaundi giggle a bit.

Shaundi put her head down, and rubbed her neck.

"And again, I'm sorry about all the shit I was giving you about taking over as our new leader" Shaundi apologized, Tony just waved his hand, and sat up next to her.

"Shaundi, its fine anyways you just saved my life so I should be grateful"

Shaundi picked her head up, and smiled a bit. "Yeah I guess your right" she replied, still having a look of sadness on her face.

"What's on your mind?" Tony asked, Shaundi shrugged and looked at him.

"Just about The Boss, and just trying to get over his death. I mean, he was such a nice guy, and always put others before himself, especially me" Shaundi replied, holding back tears, Tony slowly rubbed her back trying to console her.

"Yeah I get how you feel about his passing, I mean I've only known for a few months now, but I could tell he was a great man, just sucks he had to die like that" Tony said, feeling guilty for not showing up on time, or accompanying The Boss.

"Although I have one question..." Tony said, Shaundi nodded her head and motioned for him to continue. "I know this is none of my business, but did you...ya know have feelings for him?" Tony questioned, Shaundi sighed and wiped away a few tears.

"Yeah I did, he was the only guy who treated me right, and I had a bit of a crush on him" Shaundi blushed, realizing she hardly told anybody how she felt for The Boss, only Johnny when she was baked out of her mind.

"So… since I'm The Boss now...you gonna have a crush on me too?" Tony joked, Shaundi chuckled a bit and playfully punched Tony's good arm, making him laugh in response.

"Hey look in all seriousness though, we're all going through a tough time right now especially you, Pierce, and Johnny" Tony said

"So if you need me for anything don't hesitate to ask I have a damn near open door policy, and I say damn near cause I gotta sleep too" Tony joked, Shaundi laughed and only nodded before she left she hugged tony and says thanks for being there, after leaving Tony had just laid back and began to think about preparing to be the new Leader of The Saints, and the responsibilities that would come with it.

Along with thinking about Shaundi, even though she still cared for The Boss, Tony cared for her, but he'd be damned if he was going to show her, right now anyways.


	5. The Memorial Bridge

**Authors Note: New chapter if you get a little bit teary eyed we understand it happens. It time for everyone to say there final goodbyes. Enjoy this chapter and continue to let us know what you think**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Memorial Bridge**

As the night went on, Shaundi tossed and turned in her bed. Memories of The Boss flooding her mind as she slept, making her whimper and cry in her sleep.

After a few more minutes, loud knocking at her door made Shaundi wake up, covered in cold sweat, and tears. "Shaundi? You okay?" Tony's voice had come out from the other side of Shaundi's locked door.

Shaundi had sprung up out of her bed, and opened the door only to fall back onto the floor as soon as she saw Tony's face replaced with The Boss' which made Shaundi scream and scoot away as Tony was trying to get to her.

"Get away! You're not real!" Shaundi shouted, as she kicked Tony in his chest, knocking him back as she jumped to her feet and sprinted out of the room, until running into Johnny which sent her to the floor again, since running into Johnny was like hitting a brick wall, which like his stubbornness was difficult to get through.

"Whoa shit, where's the fire?" Johnny said lowly, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, Shaundi got up and clung to his waist, tears falling down her cheeks.

"The Boss...I saw him..." Shaundi managed to choke out, as Pierce exited his room, whining about beauty sleep and Tony followed behind him.

"Shaundi, you're just seeing things, The Boss is dead, and you saw it yourself" Johnny said, irritated but concerned.

Tony had made his way over, and Shaundi looked at him not seeing The Boss' face on his own anymore.

"Wha...it's you..." Shaundi said, as Tony had walked over and tried comforting her, Shaundi felt his face to make sure it was real, while Pierce just continued to whine in the background, which nobody had paid any attention to.

"Everything's fine" Tony said reassuringly, as he led Shaundi back to her room, and Johnny had smacked Pierce across the face to shut him up.

"Ow Gat!" Pierce cried as he clenched his stinging cheek and went back to his room, Johnny just chuckled in response and passed out on the couch, snoring as soon as he hit the soft fabric.

"Thanks for looking out for me" Shaundi said, as she sat on her bed. Tony had sat down next to her, and sighed as he ran a hand through his messy, dark hair.

"It's no problem, I already told you that I'll be here for you" Tony replied, Shaundi smiled a bit until her thoughts came back again to haunt her.

"Let me guess, when I came in you were still half asleep and thought I was The Boss?" Tony questioned, Shaundi had looked at him surprised that he practically read her mind.

"How did you-" Shaundi questioned, until Tony cut her off.

"I could just tell, anyways he's the only one you'd be freaking out about" Tony said, and put his head down and stared at the floor.

"Oh, but still...I'm still sorry about what I did Tony" Shaundi scooted closer, and put her comparatively smaller hand over Tony's, he smiled slightly as he waved his free hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it, I know your upset at this time, and you have every right to be."

After a brief moment of silence, Shaundi had yawned signaling that she was tired, and her appearance also gave more than just a hint.

Her hair was a mess, and eyes were still red from her recent spring of crying, and also wore bags under her eyes.

After laying down and talking for a few more minutes, Shaundi clung to Tony's arm and fell asleep. Tony smiled, and let her sleep, she really needed it.

Hours had passed by, and the sun slowly crept up into the sky, lighting up the penthouse. Tony was the first to wake up, behind Johnny who was cursing like a sailor after Tony supposed he been woken up, Tony had looked to his side and noticed that Shaundi was absent.

"Damn, it's like waking a fucking lion" Shaundi's voice came out from the bathroom, as she came out, wearing a long, black dress and her hair was up.

"A lion's a lot less dangerous than a pissed off Johnny Gat" Tony commented, making Shaundi laugh a bit.

"Very true, now get ready, we're leaving in an hour" Shaundi said, as she put in her earrings, and walked back into the bathroom, Tony stretched and made his way to his room, passing by Johnny who was still cursing under his breathe, and went to his own room.

Tony made his way back downstairs, were Johnny, Shaundi and Pierce were waiting for him on the couch.

"Nice of you to finally join us princess" Johnny commented, chuckling a bit. Shaundi rolled her eyes, and Pierce chuckled as well.

"You look great" Shaundi said, as she adjusted Tony's tie, he nodded in approval and the group made their way downstairs, and loaded into one of The Boss' favorite vehicles, his Black BMW.

After going to the morgue, and loading The Boss and his casket into the hearse, Tony, Shaundi, Johnny, and Pierce had made their way to Stilwater, right behind the hearse as miles of Saint's vehicles followed behind them, making a convoy.

After entering Stilwater, passers-by had put their heads down, and paid respect to the passing of one the most important so called, "hero" that they had become accustomed to over the years.

"It's great to be back in Stilwater, I've always wanted to come back, but not under these circumstances..." Shaundi said lowly as she looked towards the hearse ahead of them, and felt a deep pain within her, Tony had moved over and comforted her, while Johnny and Pierce tried making conversation to pass the time.

Meanwhile, Matt had sent out some Deckers to follow along and gather as much information as they could, and also ensure that The Saints weren't planning an attack on The Syndicate.

"Do you have them in your sights?" Matt asked over the phone, he had called one of his best lieutenants, Kiro to lead this so called, spy mission.

"Yeah, we got them" Kiro responded, as he signaled his driver to follow, in which he nodded and followed behind the convoy.

Arriving at the church, Saint's recruits and passersby had looked on as The Boss' casket was carried into the church, and The Saint's lieutenants Johnny, Tony, Pierce, Shaundi, and Oleg had looked around the recently renovated church, after The Saints had become pop-culture icons, Ultor had given them the church where many fallen Saint's names were engraved in the walls, and any visitors can leave their regards for their fallen comrades.

"Nice to see they decided to get rid of that tourist trap" Johnny commented, leaning against a wall and looked towards the currently near empty pews, and then towards the main stage, where the pastor was adjusting his robe, awaiting for everyone to arrive and get seated before beginning the eulogy.

First people to enter were the special guests, close friends, and loved ones.

The Boss' mother, Danielle had arrived, she looked to have been through hell and back, she seemed to have been crying non-stop, and also had bags under her eyes showing she hasn't gotten much sleep as well.

Shaundi was the first to greet Danielle, as she gave the latter a friendly hug and consoled Danielle. "It's just hard believing that my baby is dead..." Danielle managed to choke out as she wept into Shaundi's shoulder, whom was fighting back tears as much as she could.

Not long after Danielle had arrived, and taken her seat on the first pew, surprisingly Benjamin King had shown up, who didn't look much different since the last time he was in Stilwater, except gray hairs were scattered across his temple, and he seemed to have mellowed out quite substantially.

"Nice to see you all again" Ben said, as he gave a quick hug to Shaundi, and shared a handshake/hug with Pierce and Johnny.

"Who's the new blood?" Ben questioned, as he pointed to Tony.

"He's the new Boss" Johnny said, rubbing his neck and staring down at the ground, Ben had just walked over to Tony and shook his hand and nodded in approval as he took a seat next to Danielle.

Mr. Wong and his translator Lee had arrived, both sporting a look of sadness on their face, after making their way past the growing crowd they met up with Johnny and Shaundi, Pierce had rushed off to help Tony get the bouquets of flowers set around The Boss' casket.

Mr. Wong had walked over and bowed to Shaundi and Johnny as a sign of respect, and began to speak in Mandarin as he paced back and forth, like he normally did as Lee began to translate.

"It is an unfortunate fate that your leader has met, and brings me great sorrow" Mr. Wong had put his head down, hurt in his tone. "He was a very capable warrior, and it pains me to see such a young, and promising man like him in a casket before I am" Mr. Wong continued, as memories had flooded his mind, making him stop dead in his tracks.

After a brief moment of silence, Mr. Wong excused himself and went over to The Boss' casket, uttering a few Mandarin prayers lowly and bowing his head.

Lee soon limped over on his cane, and shared on some prayers until taking a seat next to Ben King. Soon after others had arrived and piled into the church, Johnny, Shaundi and Tony had sat outside smoking until the eulogy began.

After everything seemed to go smoothly, an unmarked police car had pulled up outside the steps, alerting Johnny immediately knowing who it was. Troy had stepped out of his car, and made his way over to the group of Saints, all of whom weren't very happy to see him, especially Johnny.

"Save it Gat, I'm here for The Boss not you" Troy said before Johnny could say a word, the latter just gave him a dirty glare, before turning his back to Troy and walked back inside the church.

Shaundi had gotten up and gave Troy a small hug, Tony had gave him a handshake afterwards and during it never looked Troy in the eyes.

"Not happy to see me again Tony?" Troy questioned, grabbing Shaundi's attention.

"You two know each other?" Shaundi asked, a little irritated, Tony just shrugged and tried to get away, until Troy grabbed his forearm in a vice grip.

"If this wasn't one of my old friends funerals, I would easily arrest you myself and make sure you rot in jail" Troy threatened, Tony just jerked his arm away and looked to Troy with disgust until Shaundi broke them apart.

Everyone was seated, the entire church was packed and quiet murmurs along with muffled cries had filled the air, the pastor had raised his hands to silence the crowd, and a few seconds they did.

"Today we are gathered here today, to mourn and remember." the pastor began to speak, his voice echoing off the walls of the church, as its occupants listened on.

"A great, and loved man who had done so much for our little city of Stilwater, getting rid of gang violence and drugs, making the streets once again safe for our families" Shaundi had wiped her eyes with a tissue as she held onto Tony's arm, Pierce also held back tears as Johnny shook his head and insulted him under his breathe, but also behind his dark shades, tears began to form.

"It is such a shame that the very being that risked his life, day in and day out for the better of our families, and city to be gunned down doing what he did best" the pastor had finished, as he slowly made his way over to The Boss' open casket, saying a quick prayer and setting down a golden cross onto The Boss' chest.

A few more cries filled the air, as even the toughest of Saints, especially Johnny and Tony had tears filling their eyes, and wiped them away quickly before anyone noticed.

Shaundi had noticed, and scooted over to Johnny to try and comfort him, he was broken, his closest friend and one of his only friends was laying in a casket feet in front of him, before he could lose his composure, he quickly closed his eyes and tried to think of anything else to keep him from breaking down.

"Johnny, are you okay?" Shaundi questioned as she rubbed his back gently, he only nodded in response and returned to his stone like position and watched on as the pastor said a few more words and put his head down for a moment of silence.

After what felt like an eternity, the moment of silence was over and faint murmurs were heard yet again.

"Now, if anyone wishes to say a few words, please come up now" the pastor offered stepping back, The Boss' mother was the first to speak up, and made her way to the podium, after wiping her eyes, she had began.

"I can't even begin to describe how horrible I feel on the inside, that my only son has been taken off this earth..." Danielle's voice was becoming weak, but she muscled through it and continued.

"He was such a good boy, and even though he had been getting himself into trouble at such a young age, he was still my precious little boy, even if he had hurt anyone that got in his way, he never raised a hand to me, although he may have been a murderer, he was still my son.." Danielle's eyes filled to the brim with tears, as she walked over to the casket and took a look at her son one last time.

After a few seconds, Danielle had kissed The Boss cold, lifeless forehead and walked back to her seat, surprisingly holding back her tears, for a while anyways.

Tony was next, as he put on his aviators to hide his red eyes, as he walked onto the stage and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Although I didn't know The Boss very well in the few months since we had first met, I could tell by the way his Saints spoke about him that he was a great man, and always did what he did for his people.

Even though some choices were not what a normal person would do, it was all he knew and got rid of anyone in his way" Tony said, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"I especially appreciated The Boss letting me into The Saints a few months ago, and not sending a bullet through my head like he normally would've done" Tony joked, as the crowd joined in on a brief laugh and then went dead quiet again.

"But even though we had our differences, he was still a great man who left quite an impression on the people and Saints of Stilwater, and Steelport" Tony went over to The Boss' corpse and said a few prayers before returning to his seat, Pierce had gotten up after him and began his final words.

"The Boss was a lot more hardcore back in the day, and managed to pull the Saints back from the grave, he definitely didn't take any shit from anyone. Especially The Brotherhood, The Ronin or the Sons of Samedi. Hell, anyone that got in the way lost everything they had, not just their life. I even remember when we first met, and after spending a day of killin' Ronin he popped the question.

"Hey Pierce how would like to be a member of the saints? He said and I was like I...I..." Pierce tried to choke out as tears flooded down his cheeks, as he turned and looked at The Boss laying in his casket.

"OH MAN I'M GONNA MISS YOU!" Pierce said, as he put his head on the casket and cried, not caring that all eyes were on him. After a few minutes of grieving, Johnny had went up and escorted Pierce back to his seat, then returned to the podium to give his final words.

"We've lost a lot of friends getting to where we are, and that's never easy first we lost Lin to the Rollerz back in Stilwater. Then Julius tried blowing up The Boss and the Saints fell apart. But after getting me out of jail serving on death row and getting the crew back together, The Brotherhood had Carlos killed and Aisha... well, I lost her to the Ronin. But at least we know that wherever The Boss is, he's leading our fellow fallen and giving Saint Peter som hell huh?" Johnny chuckled a bit at his own joke, everyone had returned his laugh, and cheered a bit.

"But I have to admit, I didn't think much of The Boss when he first joined the crew, thought there was no way the little guy was gonna make it through canonization, let alone be any help takin' over Stilwater. Hell, he didn't even talk back then. But after that shit with the Vice Kings, I knew we found ourselves one hell of a Saint. There's nothing The Boss couldn't do.

Of course even through everything Aisha's death still hit me really hard, more than a ton of bricks, and I thought I'd made peace with it, but time took its toll and If The Boss didn't show up to help, I don't know how much longer I could've kept it together, let alone still be standing here."

Johnny finished, he walked over to the casket and leaned over it, a few tears slipped out from underneath his dark shades and landed on The Boss' cheek, he quickly wiped them off and said his final goodbyes.

After a few moments of silence, Shaundi took a deep breath and made her way to the podium.

"It's amazing looking back on how I used to be: constantly baked out of my mind, always looking for the next party, playing hacky sack. But I remember the first day we met I was just a fun loving girl with dreadlocks, but the moment I walked into that underground shithole the crew was setting up in, I knew it all had potential and he saw more in me than I saw in myself." Shaundi wiped the tears out of her eyes, and forced a smile on her face as memories flowed throughout.

"So the Saints had been out of the game a while, so what. We had the boss and we had Johnny Gat, what more did we need?" Shaundi giggled a bit, making some of the other Saints smile a bit throughout all the despair.

"I knew I was a little rough around the edges at first, but I was willing to learn. Then The Boss goes and throws me the Sons of Samedi. Now that was a drag." Shaundi's smile was fading as quickly as it arrived as she walked over to The Boss and laid her hand on his head gently. "The Boss kept the crew together when we landed in Steelport.

Now, I just want everyone to pay for what the Syndicate did. He didn't deserve to die like this, even if he was the toughest person I knew, he's still human like the rest of us, and isn't bulletproof, plus he was the only man I was growing in love with" but his death and his life reminds me that any day can be our last, so we may as well enjoy life while we have it."

Shaundi had kissed The Boss' cold forehead, a few tears flowed down her cheeks as she took one last look of her former love, before returning to her seat and sitting there quietly as if she had just seen a ghost.

Tony had offered his arm, in which she took immediately and began crying into his sleeve, sniffs and cries once again filled the air, as the pole bearers, Johnny, Pierce, Oleg, Ben and Troy had lifted up the casket and made their way outside to the hearse and loaded The Boss in, once everything was set, everyone loaded into their vehicles and made their way to Mourning Woods Cemetery.

Once The Boss' casket was lowered into his burial plot next to Lin's, Aisha's and Carlos'. Was when mostly everyone had their last moments, and broke down.

The Boss' mother along with a couple other Saints had broken down and cried as the casket was lowered, Shaundi, Pierce and Johnny had kept their composure as best as they could as everyone dropped in their flowers on the lowering casket, and said their final goodbyes. On the other side of the cemetery, Kiro was overlooking everything that was occurring and gave Matt feedback on everything.

"Nothing so far, I think they'll be leaving soon" Kiro said lowly to Matt over the phone.

"Don't worry, the wait will be worth it" Matt replied, chuckling a bit.

Shaundi took one last look at the casket as some funeral workers they had hired, began to fill the grave with shovels of dirt, until the casket couldn't be seen, everyone who had filled the circle around the grave said their final goodbyes, as the group of friends, and family had made their way back to their respected vehicles. Johnny, Pierce, and Tony had piled into The Boss' Black Criminal, due to Oleg's size he had his own Criminal that he used for transport and they all waited while Shaundi talked with Ben, Mr. Wong, Lee and Danielle.

"What's she doing?" Pierce questioned, poking his head out of the passenger window.

"Recruiting" Johnny said coolly as he lit up a cigarette took a deep inhale.

"Good, we're gonna need all the help we can get" Tony said, as Shaundi waved bye and climbed into the Criminal next to Tony, as Ben, Mr. Wong, Lee and Danielle loaded into Ben King's Silver Escalade and followed behind The lieutenants as they pulled out of the cemetery.

Johnny along with Pierce and Shaundi had enjoyed a brief ride down memory lane, as they drove down the streets of Stilwater, looking over the currently renovated buildings and asphalt that the city was slowly transforming into.

"Wow..." was all Shaundi could say, as they pulled up into a Freckle Bitch's parking lot, and exited the car.

"What? They got some kickass food here" Johnny replied, as he licked his lips and got out of the driver's seat.

Soon Ben and the others had parked next to them and got out of their truck, joining their fellow Saints.

While awaiting their orders, The Saints sat around a large table inside Freckle Bitches joking about old times, but still being respectful of their recent leader's death.

"Remember when The Boss had clocked that one guy for touching Shaundi's ass?" Johnny joked, as everyone nearly died of laughter, most remembering the exact moment, and others like Ben, Danielle, Mr. Wong, Lee and Oleg had imagined it in their mind, and laughed just as hard.

"Oh, oh! Remember that one time Pierce had a panic attack when I told him that stripper was a dude?" Shaundi blurted out, making Johnny spit out his soda onto the floor next to him, everyone shared a good laugh as Pierce pouted, but still chuckled at the memory.

Once their food had arrived, they all dug in and enjoyed the greasy, delicious food while engaging in a bit of small talk until Tony had noticed two guys in a Black Toyota Tundra, and kept staring at them.

Tony had nudged Johnny, who was the closest to him and motioned with his head to the mysterious men, who had noticed they were caught and sped out of the parking lot.

"Who the fuck were those guys?" Shaundi asked, as she watched the truck speed off, Tony and Johnny both shrugged and resumed to their meals, Danielle had looked over Shaundi and Tony and smiled a bit.

"Shaundi you're so beautiful, no wonder my son had such an interest in you" Danielle stated, grabbing everyone's attention, except Oleg who had munched down his food like a bear that just woke up from hibernation.

Shaundi pointed to herself and Tony had just looked at Shaundi, feeling a bit of sadness in knowing that Shaundi had a thing for The Boss, in response Danielle nodded.

"I remember when he first began visiting, he would talk non-stop about you" Danielle said with a bigger smile, as she wiped away a few tears that had slipped out, Shaundi only blushed bright red, and hid her face.

"Well then, that's great to hear" Shaundi responded, still feeling a bit hot under the collar.

A moment of awkward silence filled the air, until everyone finished eating and loaded into their vehicles and headed to the bridge back to Steelport.

After giving them some space, Kiro and his driver had followed close behind as they were getting onto the bridge that was logged with traffic, as Monica Hughes was giving her speech during the bridge opening ceremony, The Saint's vehicles were stuck bumper to bumper with other cars, as they all awaited for the ribbon to be cut, and they could head back to Steelport.

"The Saints are on the bridge, tell Killbane it's time." Kiro said over the phone, as Matt had hung up and made the call to Killbane.

"Killbane, get ready their on the bridge" Matt's feeble voice came out through the phone speaker as Killbane's Luchadors prepared their RPGs and awaited The Saints to get in their line of sight, Killbane only chuckled as he lifted his radio to his lips, and pressed the button on the side.

"Move in, lead them to us" Killbane commanded, as his Luchadors on the ground had fired up their engine and hauled ass to the bridge, smashing any car unfortunate to be in their way.

"When I left Stilwater for the Senate, I vowed not to forget my hometown roots. My husband gave his life defending Stilwater from gang violence. It is my greatest privilege to honor him with this bridge." Monica Hughes said, as she reached for the giant ceremonial scissors just as engines roared through the quiet streets, and smashed past the traffic.

"What the fuck..?" Ben said, as he leaned his head out the window, only to have a bullet grave his temple as the large, neon green trucks drove over smaller vehicles to get to The Saints.

"This is not good..." Mr. Wong said in english, as he pulled his 44. Python from within his jacket, and fired at the monstrous trucks, Johnny had noticed and barreled through the cars in front, and Ben had followed.

"Shit get down!" Tony shouted, as bullets ripped through the back windows of their car. Tony had used his own body to shield Shaundi as Johnny pushed the car to its limits, zooming past Monica Hughes who had dropped the giant scissors and jumped to safety as The Saints drove through the makeshift stage and sped down the bridge.

"Oh my god!" Danielle screamed as she cowered in fear, Lee had shielded her from the falling glass and debris, Mr. Wong continued firing out the window to the trucks, trying to hit their drivers, but to no avail.

"Who are these guys!?" Shaundi shouted, as Tony pushed her back down just a bullet barely missed her head and hit Johnny in his right arm, making him jerk the steering wheel unintentionally as they neared the end of the bridge to Steelport. Killbane grinned from ear, to ear as The Saints came into his sights.

"Time for the high spot boys" Killbane said cockily, signaling his luchadors to open fire, in which they rained a sky full of rockets onto the bridge.

"What the fuck!" Ben shouted, as he swerved to avoid the incoming rockets, barely missing each one by mere inches.

The Luchador's vehicles weren't as lucky as they were hit head on by their own men, soon Killbane aimed towards both Saints vehicles that seemed to be very close, as he aimed a direct hit in between them, knocking them both into the water below.

After celebrating his so called victory, Killbane phoned Magic to inform him of his success.

"Is it done? And is Monica Hughes alive?" Magic said, a bit of concern in his voice.

"Don't worry she's fine, but The Saints are not as lucky" Killbane stated, laughing before hanging up, Magic has spun his chair around to face Viola, Kiki, and Matt who awaited the outcome.

"So what happened?" Kiki finally spoke up, Magic only grinned as he stood up and looked out the window towards the destroyed bridge a few miles away.

"Looks like we need to get to taking back our city" Magic said coolly, as his grin hardly faded.

"Goodbye Saints" he said lowly, before going back to his seat, and addressed the others about his plans.


	6. Building An Army

**Author's Note: From me and my co-author we would like to continue thanks for the views and reviews continue to let us know what you think, and as you can tell this is a very eventful chapter. Also from here on out it's the process of both gangs them moving on without their leaders. So yes that means The Boss as well as Phillipe Loren STAY dead. Enjoy the chapter**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Building An Army**

Tony's POV

Being in a free-fall towards the water below felt a lot longer than I had anticipated, broken glass, shell casings and bodies flying past my vision as if they were weightless.

I could feel Shaundi's vice grip around my waist as we braced for impact, I could see Johnny gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, thinking he still had control over our vehicle. While Pierce had cowered in his seat, praying as though his fate was sealed.

Once hitting the water, was when the real problem kicked in. Water began gushing through the broken and shattered windows.

"Fuck we gotta get out of here!" I heard Johnny shout, as he reached into his jacket pocket and slammed his KA-1 Kobra into the windshield cracking it more and more.

Looking down I noticed Shaundi still attached to me, I could feel her heart racing against my abdomen as she held on tighter and began crying a bit.

"Tony I'm scared" I heard her say lowly, I tried comforting her by stroking he hair which only made her cry more.

After a few brief seconds the windshield shattered and water flooded into the vehicle, I took a deep breath before swimming out from the broken windshield, while still holding onto Shaundi as we swam to the surface.

Underwater I had noticed a few dim headlights to my right and saw a figures emerging from behind the lights and followed us up to the surface.

* * *

Johnny's POV

As soon as everyone had come up from the surface, we made our way over to a nearby dock and tried to relax after almost drowning.

I had tried to stand up until I fell back onto my hands and knees and began throwing up the water that I had swallowed, what? I was thirsty, and once I finished puking my guts out, I noticed Shaundi with a weak smile on her face in Tony's arms as he cradled her, ugh...whatever, seems like the damsel in distress act works for her.

"Yo gat, you alright?" Pierce had said as I snapped my head in his direction trying to mask my anger.

"Yeah I'm fine Pierce" I growled lowly, as Pierce took the hint and backed away. I looked around and noticed Ben King trying to comfort Danielle, while Lee was helping Mr. Wong onto his feet.

That old man really needs to slow down before he kills himself, or his translator.

"Who the fuck were those guys?" I asked as Oleg had pulled his giant ass out of the water, carrying some guy on his shoulder until he got to the middle of the dock and dropped the guy like a sack of potatoes.

"Whoever this crew is, they sure as hell need to get they asses back in the wrestling ring…" Pierce said in his usual, loud-ass tone.

I looked over the dead guy, and Pierce was right, these assholes looked like WWE rejects, who overused their steroids.

* * *

3rd Person POV

"They're Killbane's thugs" Oleg had hollered out, grabbing everyone's attention, especially my own.

"Kill-who?" Tony had replied, Shaundi peered up at him with a confused look, then back at the sophisticated brute.

"Whoever this asshole is, he really fucked up trying to kill us after The Boss' funeral" Shaundi said, her eyes full of hate and anger

"Killbane, he is the Syndicate's attack dog, he cares not for rules of engagement, especially anybody who gets in his way" The over sized Russian had shot back, earning a look from the much smaller brunette as Tony gave them both a look to knock it off.

"You're not ready to fight The Syndicate" Oleg had said after a brief moment of silence, as Shaundi bit her lip trying to hold her anger back.

"Watch us" she replied, getting up and grabbing her pistol from her inner jacket holster and cocked it.

Tony immediately jumped up and grabbed her arm gently. "Relax Shaundi, what do you got big man?" Tony said as he looked to Oleg whom the latter turned his back to them and faced the ocean with his hands behind his back.

"I know people who will be willing to help, I will take you to them" Oleg replied, as he took a deep sigh.

"Alright, Johnny get Ben, Wong, Lee and Danielle back to the penthouse and watch over them, we're gonna do some recruiting" Tony said, as he reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of Aviator sunglasses and looked them over in the palm of his hand.

"Gotcha, come on" Johnny waved over the others as he walked over to an old Chevy Pick-Up Crew Cab and smashed the window open. Ben had followed behind and pulled on the handle of the passenger side and it popped open.

"It's unlocked" Ben sighed as Johnny gave an awkward laugh and shrugged as he got into the driver seat and turned the truck on.

"Force of habit" Johnny said as Mr. Wong, Lee and Danielle piled into the backseat and they sped off downtown.

Tony had lifted The Aviators to his eyes and grinned as he overlooked the horizon just as the sun began to rise.

"If it's a war they want, it's a war they'll get" Tony stated after a brief moment of silence, as him and his fellow Saints made their way over to an abandoned boat and piled in.

"So who is this new recruit anyways?" Shaundi questioned, as she brushed the loose hairs from her face as the wind made her ponytail flow freely.

"I don't know, Oleg didn't give me all the details, he said she was with the FBI" Pierce replied, as he held onto his hat...or what looked like a beige beanbag chair.

"That some kind of joke" Tony replied

"Don't stress- she was kicked out" pierce reassured him

"Great, we're getting a shitty fed" Shaundi rolled her eyes, as Tony glared at her through the rear view mirror.

"Relax girl, Oleg said that she used to run with The FBI until she was close to putting The Deckers on the spot until they set her up for a fall" Pierce shot back, as they were nearing the barge their new recruit was being held on.

"I hope she's worth the hassle" Shaundi in a huff.

"Don't be mad just 'cause we're getting a new girl" Pierce said, grinning as he put Shaundi's jealousy on the spot.

"Are you serious?" Shaundi questioned slightly annoyed.

"I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'." Pierce said, continuing his sly grin.

"Oh my God..." Shaundi snapped back.

"Play nice now, were here" Tony whispered loudly, as he shut off the engine and pulled out a duffle bag from the back of the boat.

"Here, we're going to need these" Tony continued, as he handed out silenced Five-Sevens to Shaundi and Pierce.

"We're doing this quietly?" Pierce questioned as he followed Tony and Shaundi onto the barge and ducked behind a couple of storage containers.

Tony only nodded as he crouched/ran over behind another storage container right behind a couple of guards wearing neon blue clothing, and looked like a couple of Cyber Geeks.

"What the hell are these guys wearing?" Pierce whispered, as Shaundi poked her head around the corner and took a look for herself.

"Really? Cyber Geek was sooo last year...eer I mean...what nerds" Shaundi replied, as she intentionally made a noise to spook the guards, and shot them dead in a matter of seconds.

After creeping around and taking down a few more guards, Tony along with Shaundi and Pierce made their way to the control room where they spotted a young, redheaded girl wearing usual casual wear, except for a black jacket with the letters "FBI" printed in yellow on the back.

"Kinzie...Kensington?" Tony faltered over his words as he read the name off a message he got from Oleg.

"Yeah, that's me" Kinzie replied as she blew a strand of hair from her face, as Tony leaned down and used his knife to cut her free.

"You don't seem too keen on being rescued..." Shaundi said, as she leaned against a wall and crossed her arms.

"I'm waiting to see if you've been sent to kill me" Kinzie replied, as she rubbed her soar, rope burned wrists.

"Girl's pragmatic, I like her" Pierce said with a smile, which made Kinzie blush almost as bright as her hair.

"Well we're definitely gonna need more back-up than just you, no offense" Tony checked his gun, as Kinzie shrugged.

"None taken, I know of a couple others who will be willing to help. I'll need to track them down first" Kinzie replied, as she finger combed her hair and made her way outside.

"Alright then, let's get to it" Tony stated, as he followed behind Kinzie and Pierce and Shaundi shadowed close behind.

"All I know off the top of my head is Zimos is being held captive at Safeword" Kinzie's voice came out from the phone speaker, as Tony and Pierce hijacked an abandoned Suburban and made their way to the earphone marker on their GPS.

"The BDSM club?" Pierce replied, pulling at his collar a bit and gulping.

"Yeah, long story short The Dewynters cut him out of the loop and now he's apart of their pony show" Kinzie giggled a bit after speaking, which made Tony uncomfortable.

"How do you know all of this?" Tony questioned as he took a U-Turn around an island curb and headed up a spiral street that lead them to Safeword.

"I'm sure she's a regul-"

"I'm a hacker, I know a lot of things" Pierce began just as Kinzie cut him off, trying to hide the embarrassment in her tone.

"Wait...so if you know a lot of things-"

"Yes I do know your real name" Tony tried to ask before Kinzie cut him off and answered his question, as Pierce looked back at Tony with a questionable look.

Tony rolled his eyes as he pulled into the parking lot of Safeword, and sighed. "Long story Pierce" he said before exiting and Pierce had followed suit. "So what's the etiquette for this kind of place?" Tony asked

"I look like I go to one of those clubs?" Pierce retorted back.

"You never can tell." Tony replied sarcastically

"Stop talking." Pierce says

"So defensive... Did I hit a nerve?" Tony almost laughed while saying it

"Shut up." Pierce says defeated "Yo so how're we supposed to find this guy?" Pierce questioned, as he checked his gun before stuffing it back  
into his inner jacket.

"I don't know, look for the guy who isn't excited about eating a ball gag?" Tony suggested as they walked through the main open space, passing by a couple of men and women wearing similar leather garments that hardly covered anything.

Once arriving to a bedroom where a business man was on his knees, begging for the scantily clad woman above to pleasure him until Tony grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up.

"Tell me where the owner is before I beat the shit out of you" Tony threatened as he raised a fist for encouragement.

"Oh yes hit me please!" The overly excited business man exclaimed as he grabbed a hold of Tony's leg, making him stumble back a bit in  
shock.

"Get this fucker off of me!" Tony commanded as he used his other leg to kick away the man.

"He's upstairs just hit me!" the man continued until Pierce had smashed his fist into his face.

"Let's get the fuck out of here" Tony and Pierce had jogged over towards a back office where a man wearing a leather vest and chaps was cowering behind his desk, Pierce had vaulted over the desk and tackled the guy to the ground before he could run.

"You ain't going anywhere muthafucka" Pierce growled as he pushed the smaller man's head into the ground, Tony had only grinned and nodded in approval at Pierce's aggressiveness.

"Where's Zimos?" Tony commanded as he leaned against the wall and drew a cigarette from within his jacket and lit it.

"I ain't telling you nothing! The Dewynters will cut me off if I do!" the man cried as he struggled from under Pierce's grip.

Tony only chuckled as he pulled out a switchblade from his pocket and flipped it open, the long blade shining in the low light as the man  
looked up in horror.

"If you don't tell me, something else is getting cut off" Tony threatened as he leaned down and dragged the blade along the cowering  
man's cheek, making him scream in pain.

"He's in the pony barn! Just stop please!" the man yelled as blood trickled down his cheek.

"Good boy" Tony cooed lowly as his grin only widened as he helped Pierce up and they made their way towards the back door, only to be  
met by a couple of Morningstar goons who were more surprised than prepared.

"Let's get this guy and get the fuck out of here" Tony said as they made their way through what looked to be the pony barn where a couple of men wearing the usual leather bondage, but also had horse tails, which made Tony and Pierce wonder how they got them to stay.

"How the he'll are we supposed to find this g-" "Found him" Tony said as he pointed towards a slender, African-American male with a saddle  
on his back with a rhinestone "Z" on the seat.

"Well shit that easier than I thought" Pierce mumbled lowly as he helped get the saddle off Zimos, while Tony guarded the door.

"Thanks playas, I appreciate you busting me out" Zimos said as he pulled the ball gag of his mouth and sighed in relief.

"Don't mention it, like ever" Tony replied, signaling for Zimos and Pierce to follow him as they walked down a tight corridor.

Once getting towards a doorway Tony signaled for his crew to stop and they complied quickly and ducked into the shadows.

"Got a couple of Morningstar in the room, give me a party favor Pierce" Tony whispered lowly, as Pierce only nodded and pulled out a small hand-grenade from within his jacket and handed it to Tony.

Zimos' eyes widened as he eyed the hand-grenade. "What the fuck you guys are crazy!" Zimos whispered loudly as he and Pierce ran for cover.

Tony took a deep breath before standing in the doorway and pulling the pin from the hand-grenade and tossing it underhand into the room filled with Morningstar goons.

Seconds later the air filled with screams, then a loud boom that filled the air with smoke and debris.

"Damn that's strong shit!" Pierce commented, as he waved a hand in front of his face and coughed, Zimos proceeded to do the same as they walked into the room.

"Looks like they're done for, let's go" Tony stated as he walked over the dead and mangled bodies on the ground and made his way outside to the Suburban.

"I'll see you back at the crib Tony" Pierce threw over his shoulder as he climbed into a fellow Saints Torch and drove off, Zimos proceeded to get in the Suburban and buckled himself in just as Tony's phone began to ring.

"Tell me good news Kinzie" Tony commanded, with a mixture between seriousness and curiosity.

"Well for one, I found the guy I was looking for. His name is Angel De La Muerte, he used to be Killbane's partner before he went insane" Kinzie replied as sounds of typing can be heard in the background, Tony just made a confused look at the phone just as he turned onto a bridge.

"Before Angel went insane, or Killbane did?" Tony questioned, as Zimos only sighed and scratched at his uncomfortable leather clothing.

"I should probably look into that, but anyways The Luchadors are attacking him at the gym so get there before he gets killed" Kinzie said before she hung up, Tony only slammed his fist into the steering wheel and looked towards Zimos.

"Why didn't she just start with that?" Tony questioned to no one in particular as Zimos only shrugged.

A few minutes of awkward silence filled the SUV before they pulled up in front of the gym where a couple of Luchadors were attacking a man wearing a hoodie with wrestling tights and boots.

"Let's help him out!" Tony shouted as he handed Zimos a SPAS-12 from the backseat and grabbed a SCAR-H for himself and cleared out the small group of Luchadors that surrounded Angel.

"Am I too late to the party?" Oleg questioned aloud as he smashed through a blockade of Luchador vehicles and tossed its occupants around like ragdolls.

"Not at all big man, plenty of Luchadors to toss around!" Zimos called out as he followed Tony inside the gym where Angel had ran into.

Once the three men were inside the gym they looked around and noticed the destroyed and aging decor, including dust covered slot machines and broken pieces of furniture and stools littered the dingy floors.

"You're not one of Loren's brutes" Angel called out in his gruff, deep voice as he pointed towards Oleg, as the latter only cracked his neck and knuckles.

"And you're not one of Killbane's Luchadors" the large man replied in his thick Russian accent, just as sounds of tires screeching and doors slamming shut grabbed their attention.

"No, but they are" Tony said as he popped in a fresh magazine into his AR-55 and cocked it.

Just as a swarm of Luchadors stormed through the front doors and sent hot lead throughout the empty gym, just as Oleg caught sight of a rival brute.

"Leave this imposter to me" Oleg commanded as he made a beeline towards the brute and they both locked arms in a debate of strength.

"Wait, that means all the others are on us!?" Zimos cried out as he popped up and emptied the magazine of his Gravedigger and then ducked down to reload, Tony had vaulted over and overturned table and sent multiple rounds into a couple of Luchadors unfortunate to get in his way, once running out of ammo he grabbed a Luchador from behind used him as a human shield, as he pulled out The Boss' personal 45 Shepherd and shot everyone that got near him in the head.

After clearing out the brutes and Luchadors that flooded Angel's gym, Tony, Zimos, Angel and Oleg had made their way back to the HQ and gathered in the main area awaiting Tony's rally call, as he made his way onto the balcony and whistled to get everyone's attention, Ben King looked up to Tony and grinned as he knew his speech always inspired every Saint's rally call speech.

"Alright I know that a lot of shit has happened in the few weeks we've been here, especially losing The Boss throughout that time, and it pains every one of us that he died the way he did. But from his ashes we will rise, and take down these Syndicate assholes and show that we're not just some pussy street gang, we're The Third Street Saints, our name isn't going to be on energy drinks and body spray, we're gangsters, criminals, and we're going to leave a big ass boot mark on  
Steelport's ass once we clear it out"

Tony said throughout the quiet penthouse, as he made his way down to the middle of the room where Kinzie, Zimos, and Angel stood side to side facing the crowd.

"We don't know Steelport very well so I employed the help of these people. Kinzie, Zimos, and Angel" Tony nodded towards his new Lieutenants and paced around them like a drill sergeant.

"If you need something to do, call these guys and they'll call the shots, it's our time now, let's get this shit started!" Tony shouted as the crowd shouted back and raised their fists to show their encouragement.

Meanwhile at The alternate Syndicate's HQ in Burns Hills Reactor. Viola, Kiki, Matt and Magic sat around a round table, as Killbane sat at the far end with arms crossed and mind wandering.

"So what's the plan Killbane?" Magic called out as he sat back in his seat and kicked his feet up onto the table. Killbane rose to his feet and leaned over the table and took a look at the remaining Syndicate Lieutenants that sat before him.

"Well then, it's been brought to my attention that those pesky little Saints survived their swim, and they even have a new leader!" Killbane said in a low tone then turned into an angered one as he glared at Magic, who rolled his eyes and sat up.

"So you're worried about us not having a leader? Hell just call me Boss" Magic replied with his tone full of cockiness and arrogance.

"The barbarians are at the gate – we need a General, not an ambassador!" Killbane thundered as he jumped to his feet and slammed his fists into the table, making Matt shriek and hid behind Viola and Kiki.

"You think you're a better leader than me? Your followers are nothing but a bunch of steroid using rejects!" Magic shot back as what features were shown by Killbane's mask became bright red, as he went into a complete rage and flipped the table making it skid across the floor before slamming into a wall.

"You shut your mouth and remember who you're speaking to!" Killbane towered over Magic, who seemed unfazed as he and Killbane were inches away from each other.

"I am The Walking Apocalypse! No man has ever crossed me and survived!" Killbane continued yelling at the top of his lungs, as the veins in his neck popped out to show his anger.

"This isn't murderbrawl Killbane! This isn't a damn wrestling promo! This is a war and since like you said we need a general I am better and more qualified than you at all types of warfare and you're just nothing more than a brute with a half-witted brain."

"Why you think Loren just has you as the attack dog and left the thinking is left with me Kiki, Viola, and Matt?" Magic shot back. At this point Killbane and magic seemed ready to tear each other apart until…

"Calm down Eddie..." Kiki finally spoke up as Magic and Killbane both turned their attention to her.

"What did you just call me...?" Killbane growled lowly as Matt stood up behind Kiki and Viola as they did the same.

"Maybe Magic is the right choice for our new leader, he was Loren's main operations lieutenant and has the military experience as a leader as well" Matt's feeble voice ringed through the dead quiet atmosphere as Killbane held back his anger and stomped off back to his seat.

Soon Kiki and Viola backed Matt, and Magic sat back down in his seat feeling triumphant.

"Well then, I guess it's unanimous" Magic stated as he grinned from ear to ear, and awaited Matt, and The Dewynters to join him.

"Now that this is settled this what we're going to do, Me, Kiki, Viola and Kiro are going to Washington D.C to bail out an old associate who's going to help bring in some major money for us, while you two Matt and Killbane, you two are heading to Columbia to help that old associate set up." Killbane glared at Magic, whom the latter only ignored him and continued explaining his plan, and soon dismissed everyone.

Once being alone in his makeshift office, Magic looked out his window towards the setting sun on the horizon, the bright light gleaming off his sunglasses. "You fucked with the wrong guy Tony, "Mark my words: When these hands are crushing your throat, and all of your crews bodies are splattered across the city the Saints legacy will end there and I will finish something I should have did a long time ago" Magic clenched his fists, as his slight grin turned into a scowl at the memory of his old rival.

"Until then it's time for Mr. Magic to go to chocolate city D.C. and build on a few things for the just in case" Magic said as his scowl turned grin


	7. Moving Forward & Broadening Affairs

**Author's Note: Wow, it has certainly been a long while since we have updated but not only did we post a new chapter but we have updated the entire story up to this point. Now we could have came up with a million and one excuses of why it has taken us this long to give our views and fans a new chapter, but to be real and honest with you, we simply were just overly busy with our social and personal lives. But we are back and will try our hardest to update at a much more efficient pace while still keeping our quality. So with that being said enjoy the newest chapter, and continue to support by reviewing and letting us know how what you think.**

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**Chapter 7: Moving Forward & Broadening Affairs**

The sun slowly rose over the horizon, illuminating the open areas of The Saints penthouse, Shaundi tossed and turned in her bed, attempting to avoid the bright beams of sunlight peeking through her open curtains.

Shaundi shot up in bed once hearing a loud crash, and a few muffled shouts. "It's too early for this shit..." The brunette growled, as she quickly put her hair into a messy ponytail and grabbed her KA-1 Kobra for insurance.

"Goddamn it Pierce, can't I eat some cereal in peace without you coming up and scaring the shit out of me!" Tony yelled, as he knelt down and picked up the small pieces of the broken bowl and cereal.

"Shit, I was just trying to tell you that we gotta hit up the Morningstar's HQ!" Pierce cried out, as Tony shoved his way past and mumbled a few curses under his breathe, just as Shaundi came downstairs, looking as if she was about ready to rain hell.

* * *

Shaundi's POV

I was seconds away from exploding on those two idiots for waking me up so early in the morning, up until I noticed Tony wasn't wearing his aviators. For a tough guy murderer, he sure did have amazing eyes that I caught myself staring into.

I couldn't help but smile as I noticed he was taking quick glances back through his messy hair, and didn't seem to want to break the eye contact. It wasn't until Pierce had came in between us that I had noticed how long we were just standing there, staring at each other while Pierce bitched in the background as always.

Pierce's wide grin replaced Tony's as he restrained from laughing I quickly pushed past him and made my way into the kitchen, and as I was digging through the fridge for something to drink I had completely forgot about my KA-1 Kobra tucked in the back of my shorts, until it had slipped out and hit the ground making it go off and hit the glass that was on the table.

* * *

Tony's POV

Just as I was about to clock Pierce in his jaw for barraging me with questions, I heard a loud bang go off in the kitchen and thought the worse. I shoved past Pierce who the latter's immediate response was to duck down onto the floor in fear of being shot, as I rounded the corner preparing myself for what made that sound.

But, Instead of seeing a masked gunman, or even any sort of threat, the only person I came face-to-face with, was Shaundi holding a jug of orange juice, with a sheepish smile on her face as she proceeded to pick up her KA-Kobra and placed on the counter next to the broken glass.

In the background I could hear loud footsteps coming towards the kitchen, just as I turned around I was confronted by Johnny, who also looked to have just gotten out of bed as well, wielding his signature K6 Krukov and looked to be either concerned or angered.

"You got 10 seconds to explain why the fuck I was woke up!" Johnny roared, making Pierce cower more behind the couch, and only made me chuckle at his pissy mood.

"Calm down Gat, I was just getting some orange juice when I dropped my gun" Shaundi said with a laugh as she flipped her hair in Johnny's face, making him growl a bit.

After cleaning up the unusual amount of broken glass that littered the floor, I called up the rest of the lieutenants and set-up a meeting on the priorities we had on our plate.

* * *

3rd Person POV

All of The Saint's lieutenants, including their crew leaders gathered in the meeting room, which was a large open area with a long, wide table in which they all sat around while Tony sat at the far end, grabbing his chin in thought as murmurs of conversation echoed throughout the room.

"Alright, quiet down" Tony commanded, as he stood up from his seat and adjusted his tie. "I know, thing aren't going as well as we hoped." another wave of comments filled the air, until Tony motioned for them to quiet down again.

"Money's getting tight due to The Syndicate draining our funds, so we don't have much to back us up while we're charging into this war head-on" Tony cleared his throat, and leaned over the table looking over The Saint's that sat before him, soon his attention was turned towards Kinzie, who as usual was typing away on her laptop that never seemed to leave her side.

"But I have a plan to us back on the map, and prove we're not just some glamorous celebrities who lost their true meaning!" Tony's voice boomed, as he slammed his fist on the table for emphasis, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Kinzie, I want you to hack into The Syndicate's tower and get me a rough layout of it before we blow it to hell" Kinzie nodded in response, and began furiously typing into her laptop while the others had turned their attention back to Tony.

"Pierce, Shaundi, and Johnny." Tony called out as if he were a drill sergeant during selection.

"You, and your crews are gonna hit the streets and extort some businesses and make them cough up the money they owe us for operating in our territory.

Tony proceeded to pull out The Boss' custom 45 Shepherd that Shaundi had given to him on that faithful day and set it on the table, making some recoil in fear, and others (Johnny) move forward awaiting the message.

"And if they object, don't be afraid to show those motherfuckers that The Saint's aren't afraid to put a bullet in their asses!"

Everyone rose from their seats and cheered, raising their fists as they chanted "Third Street!" after a few brief moments, the crowd dispersed from the meeting room and made their way to the main area and began loading up on their remaining guns that were better of being used as melee weapons in exchange for not exploding as soon as the trigger was pulled.

Which was a good example, since as soon as Johnny picked up a worn, and slightly rusted Tombstone Shotgun, It fell to pieces before his eyes, leaving behind a cloud of rust.

"Yo, we need some new guns!" Johnny hollered out, as he threw the remaining pieces of metal to the ground.

"Oh that's fine Gat, we can just go to the gun store with our shit ton of cash and buy them out!" Pierce said sarcastically, making Johnny roll his eyes and slug Pierce in his shoulder making the latter cry out in pain.

"Or how about we just raid the guard armory? They got a shit load of guns and we need them" Johnny stated, leaning against a wall while Shaundi had taken a deep sigh and joined the conversation.

"Are you serious? We can't just go in and raid the guard armory!" Shaundi protested, just as Tony made his way down the stairs curious of the commotion.

"Why the fuck not?" Johnny shot back, a little angered at being told no.

"Well we don't have much of a choice, unless you would want to go and ask Birk for a loan..?" Pierce replied, grinning at his own words while he and Johnny shared a laugh as Shaundi's face began to turn red.

"Although you might need to... ya know...seal the deal?" Johnny said with another laugh, the surrounding Saint's also joined in and Shaundi clenched her fists as she withheld her anger at the mention of her stalker.

"Enough" Tony said sternly as he raised wave his hand over the group of Saints, signaling them to quiet down.

"But I will admit, it's not a bad idea" Shaundi looked to the man standing next to her and sighed as she threw her hands up in defeat, knowing if Tony liked the idea, then there was no way of changing his mind.

"Alright, now let's plan this shit out..." Johnny commented, as they all had gathered around and began to discuss their plan.

_8 hours later..._

Tony, along with Johnny, and were piled into a Steelport Guards Humvee that they were currently using to get into the guard armory.

"So, this is going to work...right?" Shaundi questioned, clenching the grip her KA-1 Kobra tighter as Tony slowly came to a stop in front of the entrance, a few soldiers that were passing by began to grow suspicious about the occupants of the Humvee.

"Uh maybe!" Tony shouted as he pressed his foot onto the accelerator, missing the soldiers by mere inches as they plowed past the smaller cars ahead, and broke the barrier bar that stopped cars from passing.

"This isn't feeling me with confidence!" Shaundi shouted back, clinging to the grip above her head, in which was nicknamed the 'Oh Shit!' handle.

Once barreling past a few makeshift roadblocks and soldiers that keep them from the guard armory.

Tony, Johnny and Shaundi exited their bullet ridden Humvee and before they could begin to look over the vast array of weapons, armor, and tech.

Their attention was drawn to the large, dangerous weapon that could make even the most heated of argument come to an abrupt end.

Tony's and Johnny's jaw practically dropped to the ground at the marvel of mankind's engineering that laid before them, until Shaundi's objections brought them back to reality.

"No...No way are we taking that huge fucking bomb!" Shaundi complained, knowing that if she let them take the bomb, there were plenty of cons that overwhelmed the pros.

Tony and Johnny exchanged looks before they had made up their decision. "You know what? Your right Shaundi" Tony said, surprising both Johnny, and Shaundi.

"Good, I'll call Pierce and tell him to bring the crew and we can get this stuff back to the crib" Shaundi replied with a small smile forming across her face as she turned her back to the two men and dialed up Pierce.

"Yo, seriously we gonna leave this big motherfucker behind?" Johnny questioned lowly as he knocked against the bomb.

"Fuck no, were taking it" Tony replied as he and Johnny shared a grin just before Shaundi turned back around.

"Yo how much longer do we gotta wait 'till Pierce gets here?" Johnny questioned, as he slammed the stock of his K6 Krukov into a guard with a riot shield, making the latter fall to the ground with a THUD.

"Not long..." Tony replied, as he and Shaundi looked towards the horizon, a few helicopters began to come into sight.

A few Saints recruits dangled off the sides of the helicopter's landing skids, wielding K8-Krukovs and sent a hail of bullets into the soldiers huddling behind cover below.

"Great timing Pierce!" Tony commented, as he vaulted over the concrete barrier he used as cover, and made a beeline towards the hovering helicopter.

"I always do" Pierce shot back, giving his signature smile as he stepped out from the helicopter.

"Let's get this loaded up!" Tony commanded, as the Saint recruits piled out of the helicopters and began loading up the cargo.

"Shit Tanks!" Johnny shouted as he tackled both Tony and Pierce to the ground, just as a missile flew past and hit the wall a few feet behind them, making concrete shrapnel and smoke fill the air.

"Come on!" Johnny shouted, forcefully lifting the two men off the ground and lead them back inside the armory where the remaining recruits seemed refuge from the massive war machines.

"Shit we're surrounded man!" Pierce cried out, as he ducked down behind a barrier, bullets practically flying past his head.

"How're we gonna get this shit out of here?!" Tony replied, just as Shaundi ran over to a table cluttered with technology and dug through the heap until bringing back a small metallic briefcase with a carry handle.

"Here these are UAV Drone controls, they should help thin out those tanks" Shaundi said as she handed Tony the briefcase, the latter proceeded to open it and admired the sleek layout before sending down a storm of missiles that devastated the incoming Humvees and Tanks.

"Alright come on let's go!" Johnny shouted over the gunfire as he led the remaining Saints out of the armory and covered them as they continued loading up the cargo.

Once clearing out what seemed to be endless waves of soldiers, Tony along with Shaundi and Johnny piled into Pierce's helicopter and began to fly back to the penthouse.

"What the fuck!" Shaundi cursed, seeing a cargo helicopter pass over them, carrying the immensely sized bomb as its cargo.

"Uh, surprise?" Tony said sheepishly, as Shaundi only rolled her eyes and gave a sigh as their helicopter began it's decent onto the helipad.

A few more hours past as The Saints began to unload their cargo and admired the various amount of weaponry and armor, along with technology that was laid out throughout the penthouse.

"Nice, we got a good score" Johnny said with a large grin on his face as he held a McManus 2015 Sniper Rifle, along with a belt of ammo wrapped around his torso and lower abdomen.

"Definitely" Tony replied, as he looked over an automatic AS-14 Hammer and admired the sleek and tough design that he immediately found himself falling in love with.

"If you two are done playing with your toys, we have some business to attend to" Shaundi cut it, making Johnny and Tony look in her direction taken off guard.

"Right, Kinzie!" Tony called out, as the petite redhead looked up from her laptop towards the direction of the voice.

"Tell me you get the blueprints for The Syndicate's tower?" Tony continued, as he set down the AS-14 Hammer and made his way over towards Kinzie, who had a nervous grin.

"Not exactly, but I do know who has them" Kinzie replied, as she turned the screen of her laptop towards the group, in which they all crowded around to see.

"Hmm, I'll handle this" Tony threw over his shoulder before anyone could object as he walked towards the elevator, grabbing a Kanata off of the table on his way out.

Once arriving at an upscale building, Tony exited The Boss' custom Criminal which was recently repaired after the bridge 'incident' with the Kanata slung over his shoulder.

"Hello, how can I help you sir?" the receptionist questioned, her heart dropping once noticing the sword Tony wielded.

"Yes, I would like to speak to Mr. Putnam" Tony replied in a polite manner as he pulled the Kanata from its sheath, revealing the long, lustrous blade.

"Um...yes I-I'll see if-if he's in..." the young woman managed to choke out as she looked at her reflection in the Kanata's edge.

"That would be great" Tony shot back with a sly grin, he lowered the sword to his side as the receptionist pointed him towards Mr. Putnam's office.

"Come in" Mr. Putnam called out from behind his desk, piles of paperwork sat upon the desktop as the door slowly creaked open as Tony stepped in.

"Well, good afternoon Mr. Putnam" Tony said with an evil tone, Mr. Putnam's reading glasses fell to the tip of his nose as he observed the individual inching his way closer.

"Can-can I help you?" Mr. Putnam replied, forcing a frightened smile as he fidgeted around in his seat and searched under his desk.

"Actually yes, you can" Tony continued as he stood on the opposite of Mr. Putnam's desk, the latter continued searching until his finger was inches from pressing the panic button under his desk.

Just when he was about to press the all too familiar button, Tony pressed the edge of his Kanata's razor sharp blade against Mr. Putnam's neck, right above his jugular.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Tony cooed lowly, as he grinned and pressed the blade against the trembling man's throat, barely breaking the skin and allowing a thin trail of blood to flow down his thick, fat neck.

"You're gonna get me the blueprints for The Syndicate's tower downtown, or else I slice open your bullfrog throat" Tony threatened, watching Mr. Putnam tremble even more, letting a few tears fall down his rosy cheeks as he shook his head.

"That's what I thought" Tony finished, pulling the Kanata as he slid it back into the leather sheath, Mr. Putnam took a deep gasp of air before frantically digging through his files for the blueprints.

"Here-here you g-go" the shorter man choked out while fighting tears as he handed over a manila folder filled with blueprints.

"Good man, thank you for your cooperation" Tony replied with a smile, sliding it into his jacket but not before noticing the Ultor logo on the side.

Tony cursed under his breathe and in a swift moment he drew his 45 Shepherd from its holster and send a bullet into Mr. Putnam's skull, watching as his oversized body crumpled to the floor.

"Too bad you didn't do it sooner" Tony threw over his shoulder as he made his way out of the deceased man's office, a few more screams and gunshots went off in the building as Tony made his way back into The Boss' Criminal and sped off in a cloud of smoke.

While cruising down the streets of Steelport, and passing by familiar buildings that signaled that the HQ was near, Tony leaned back in his seat, glancing back and forth from the road, to his passenger seat. Still curious of what Ultor's involvement was in The Syndicate's HQ.

Meanwhile Magic sat back in his chair, overlooking files that were spread out around the table. He recently had a couple of recruits break into the Syndicate's former HQ to not only secure The Syndicate's business files, but also Loren's personal files.

Once reaching a file that included blueprints and labeled 'Alderman Hughes Memorial Bridge' was when Magic raised a curious eyebrow and flipped through a few of the papers within until reaching a transaction and agreement Loren had made with Monica Hughes.

While investigating through Loren and Monica's business agreement, he noticed that The Syndicate had aided in paying for the building of the bridge in exchange for political, and judicial favors.

"So wait you was getting it in with Monica Hughes... No wonder she was always extra nice at the business dinners, hahaha Phillipe man you never cease amaze" Magic said to himself while continue to look over files.

Another unnamed file quickly grabbed Magic's attention as he noticed it was information and opinions about everyone in The Syndicate, including Magic himself.

"Although Mr. Jones and I have had our differences, and his personality isn't quite the best and we may clash when it comes to operation decisions, he knows what he is doing and has years of experience and training to prove it, if my legacy were to come to an end, Along with Viola and Kiki I would go knowing I have a trustworthy protégés to take my position" Magic said aloud, as he paced back and forth reading through the other bios with a small smile forming on his face.

"Man, things aren't going to be the same without you here" Magic said to himself with an almost sadden tone.

Once being uninterested in the other contents of the file, Magic set it back onto the table and looks out the window and overlooked the darkening sky, memories began flooding his mind as it seemed reality began slipping away.

_Years ago..._

_The moonlight dimly lit the cold, dark, and secluded jail cell. A young man sat on a bench held up by chains bolted into the wall, leaning over 'till his elbows met his knees. The atmosphere usually filled with riled up drunks, thugs and junkies was eerily quiet except for the occasional outburst or echo of the guards shoe meeting the concrete._

_It wasn't until the door on the far end of the corridor swung open was when the young man lifted his head and looked towards the loud, obnoxious metallic clank. Two similar looking women clad in black turtleneck sweaters matched with short black skirts and knee high leather boots were being escorted down the empty hallway by a couple of men wearing similar outfits with a red star pin resting on the fold of their jackets._

_"Mr. Jones?" One of the women said in a strict tone, Jones took a few seconds to reply as he admired her 'assets' that bulged from her tight turtleneck all the way up to her tightly sealed glossy lips, green piercing eyes, and her dark raven-like hair that was held in a high ponytail with white sunglasses that sat atop her head, just above her hairline._

_"Mr. Jones?" the young woman questioned again, slightly agitated and tilted her head to the side letting the long ponytail dangle over her shoulder._

_"Yeah, who's asking?" Jones replied, standing to his feet off of the makeshift bed and looked down towards the slightly shorter woman, seconds later her twin entered with a couple of goons wielding P90 submachine guns slightly concealed in their coats and stood shoulder-to-shoulder creating a wall._

_"That's not important right now, our employer wishes to speak with you" the slightly taller twin spoke up, forcing a small smile as the men in black suits moved closer and tied Jones' arms behind his back and began to escort him out of the cell._

_While going down the corridors, Jones looked at the shorter twin he had admired and still had his signature smile spread across his features, the woman fought to hide a small smile that tugged at her lips until Jones finally spoke up. "You look great, I like the whole uh...leather thing brings out the curves more" Jones said in a smooth tone, making the smaller woman scowl a bit at his attempt of small talk._

_"Whatever, I'm not some two-bit slut that'll jump at the snap of your finger" she shot back, giving an evil glare making Jones chuckle._

_After what seemed to last an eternity, Jones was escorted into a lavish, highly guarded building complete with tall gates and fancy shrubbery. Once taking an elevator up and endless amount of floors, Jones found himself being tied down to a bolted chair in the middle of the room._

_Sounds of a muffled conversation filled the quiet atmosphere as the recruits watching over Jones exited the room and mere seconds later their presence was replaced by the twins that escorted him here, along with what looked to be a 7 foot tall wrestler clad in a black and green suit riddled with polished studs that continued onto his wrestling mask._

_Behind him was a much smaller, dainty man, wearing a high collared, black leather jacket with neon blue mixed designs riddled across the arms and chest._

_His appearance was complete with low hanging 'emo' haircut, black eyeliner and dark lipstick on his features._

_Finally a tall, thin graying haired man who seemed to be their leader due to his attire of a black suit, red dress shirt and matching scarf hanging loosely around his neck sat behind the large desk that Jones was forced into facing._

_"Who are you and why I am here in the presence of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey crew?" Jones questioned, tugging at the restraints around his wrists._

_The older man chuckled a bit to himself and leaned back into the chair. "Oh my apologies, I am Phillipe Loren, chairman of a multinational organization called The Syndicate"_

_Loren said in a thick French accent, the latter then stretched out his arms towards the men and women that stood to his sides an introduced them._

_"These are my associates, Viola and Kiki Dewynter" Loren pointed towards the twins that Jones was eager to know more about._

_"And these two men are Killbane and Matt Miller" Loren continued, pointing towards the towering wrestler, and the small hacker._

_"Syndicate? Never heard of it" Jones responded, rolling his eyes and taking a deep breathe._

_"Evidently not, or else you wouldn't have attempted to rob our bank" Loren said in disgust, then reached over his desk towards a small wooden box and pulled a cigar from within._

_"I guess you wonder why you're still breathing at this point" Loren said lowly as he brought the cigar to his lips and took a deep inhale._

_"Ya know, it came to mind a little bit" Jones joked, shrugging his shoulders and chuckling a bit._

_"I couldn't help but notice quite the past you have had, and your military record cannot be ignored" Loren said, blowing the smoke through his mouth and nose as he spoke._

_"Let me guess, you want an autograph or something?" Jones shot back, a small grin forming on his face but was quickly wiped away as the guard behind him smacked the back of his head._

_"Guess I hit a nerve" Jones said lowly as he shook his head._

_"Perhaps another time" Loren replied with sarcasm_

_"I was planning on a partnership" he continued, then stood from his seat, leaning over the table he came within mere inches from Jones' face._

_"And I guess by the ties around my wrists that not only are you into kink, but I also don't have an option" Viola and Kiki shared a small laugh as Loren's face began to turn slightly crimson._

_"Like it or not Mr. Jones, our organization is expanding into countries around the world, especially in the United States, plenty of money to be made in the land of opportunity plus im giving you a chance to leverage your skills against your life" Loren managed to choke out as he muttered a few curses in French under his breathe._

_"Hmm...I guess it's an offer I can't refuse" Jones said lowly, feeling slightly defeated._

_Years passed by like months and the months passed by like minutes through Jones' eyes. One minute he's leading hostile takeovers with the Dewynter sisters, fighting alongside Killbane in Murderbrawl and bonding with Matt over talks of tech all the while earning their trust and gaining the attention of Loren._

_Then not long after, he was sitting at a large, round table with his now close and trusted associates as an equal. All shared laughs and past memories of their pasts over dinner which seemed to have been a turning point for The Syndicate's moral._

_But soon, the good memories were replaced by bad. Flashes of the Saint's slut towering over Loren's corpse, smoking gun still present in her hands and bullets cutting through the air as Jones made a beeline for a nearby vehicle and sped off before he'd be joining Loren._

Distant voices and a door creaking open grabbed Magic's attention, immediately due to force of habit he traced the familiar outline of his Colt 1911 that rested on the inside of the waist holster that rested on his thigh.

It wasn't until a familiar soothing voice that filled the quiet atmosphere was when Magic's shoulders relaxed and loosened from their former tension.

"Eric? Are you okay?" Viola spoke lowly and gently, the light clicking of her heels against the wooden floors, normally Magic wouldn't be too pleased with anybody calling him by his first name, but when it came to Viola. Exceptions can be made.

"Yes, I'm fine just, memories" Magic replied, as he turned and faced the slightly smaller woman whose features expressed her worries.

"It's okay to remember the past, but it's better of being left as it is, the past" Viola comforted, running a reassuring hand around his waist.

"I just wish I could have made better decisions and not let my cockiness get the better of me" Magic lowered his head, letting out a deep breathe.

"We all do, but you can't turn back the hands of time" Viola continued reassuringly

"If I could, I wouldn't hesitate. I don't have the business savvy, or leadership skills that Loren possessed" Magic interrupted, his deep voice attempting to mask a sense of doubt.

"Even if that is so, all of us prefer the man we've all have become accustomed to know over these years" Viola said with a smile, her deep green eyes glistened in the low light as they met Magic's dark, brown ones.

Before the moment could become more heated, Kiki who was accompanied by Kiro and were sitting at the far end of the room made their way over, and just as suspected began piggybacking on Viola's comments.

"We already have our leader, you've got potential. Don't waste it degrading yourself." Kiki said also reassuringly.

"And if Viola and Kiki as well as Loren believe and trust in you then I will back them up as well" Kiro chimes in.

"Alright-alright I get it" Magic said with a chuckle as the other joined in on the small laugh.

"Now, let's get down to business" Magic said in a more serious tone, Viola, Kiki and Kiro took notice and sat in their respected seats and awaited their orders.

"As you all know, we're going to be heading out to D.C, we're going to have a long day ahead of us settling some more agreements with Monica Hughes, while Killbane and Matt fly out to Columbia and secure our new associate's empire" He continued, leaning over the desk.

"Kiro, I'm going to need you to make reservations at the Hay-Adams Hotel in D.C" Magic pointed a finger towards the smaller male, the latter nodded slightly and as if on cue pulled out the small tablet concealed within his trench coat and typed away.

"Also make sure it's one of the first class suites, just because we are going for business doesn't mean we can't still be The Syndicate and live that good life" Magic also noted with the rest of the group nodding in agreement.

"Alright let's get a move on, Killbane and Matt are already headed to the airport, best if we don't keep the waiting" Magic continued, grabbing his coat off from his chair and began heading for the door.

A few conversations of random topics jumping from weaponry, to history, to current events made time fly by. Magic, along with Viola, Kiki and Kiro exited the vehicle and began walking towards the hangar until catching sight of two figures in the distance.

"You all set?" Magic questioned as he came within Killbane's sight, Matt gave a small smile as he and Kiro took a walk discussing technology and other topics.

"Of course, with the exception of a plan!" Killbane's loud voice boomed throughout the hangar with an unneeded amount of extra volume.

"I'm getting to that, no need to yell" Magic replied calmly, as Viola and Kiki began loading their luggage into the plane.

"Once you get to Columbia, Matt will track down where Orejuela is operating, once that's is known you take your Luchadors, and Matt's Deckers and convince Manuel to hand it over" Magic continued, using a cut-throat gesture to emphasize 'convince' in a different manner.

"Ah excellent, Mattie! Time to go and speak with Manuel Orejuela!" Killbane shouted with an unsuspecting amount of enthusiasm and a bit of sarcasm as Matt and Kiro made their way back and began boarding their separate flights.

"Alright ladies, let's head to D.C. in style" Magic said with a large grin spreading across his features, raising his sunglasses to his eyes, Magic wrapped his arms around Viola and Kiki's shoulders who were giggling and smiling as they entered the plane.

Hours passed as the gentle hum of the plane's engine was all that could heard, with the exception of Magic's faint snoring that stayed in sync with the rise and fall of his chest.

Once arriving at the airport, the occupants of the private plane exited as their luggage was unloaded, Magic stayed behind and overlooked the young men hauling bag after bag onto their carts.

Once seeing as they were almost complete, Magic pulled out his phone and searched through his contacts until reaching Monica Hughes contact.

His finger hovered over the name until finally pressed call and raising the phone to his head.

"I don't have much time, make it quick" Monica Hughes said between breathes, sounds of shuffling and voices filling the background.

"I was wondering if we could set-up a meeting and di-"

"I don't have time during the day, however I'll make an exception" Monica Hughes interrupted, Magic sighed internally as he thought it over before speaking.

"Sounds good, I'll see you then-"

"I'll send the location, meet there on time not a single minute late, and bring a date" Monica Hughes cut him off again and hung up before Magic could object.

"Damn, Looks like I have to find a date" Magic mumbled a bit just as a Black Escalade pulled up to a skidding halt in front of him.

"Get in!" Kiki shouted with enthusiasm as Kiro opened the back passenger door, Magic smiled lightly as he slipped into the truck and as soon as the door was shut Viola sped off down the runway and onto the unfamiliar streets of, Washington D.C.

"Look, before we start getting too comfortable in D.C we have matters to attend to" Magic finally spoke up, a few quiet murmurs filled the vehicle until dying down.

After a few moments Kiro had connected onto the Federal Bureau of Prisons communication line and handed over the headset to Magic.

"How can I help you?" the young woman on the other line spoke, full of false enthusiasm and seemingly overused greeting.

"Yes, I'm calling for Monica Hughes who is awaiting the location of an inmate named 'Rico Vargas?'" Magic replied, using the voice disguise technology Kiro incorporated into the headset.

"Um, yes sir it's right here" the woman said in her cheery voice, the sounds of her nimble fingers typing filled the background.

"Mhm here it is, Rico Vargas, he's being held in a prison right outside of Washington, I can send you the location if you'd like?" she offered, as Magic stroked his chin in thought.

"Yes, that would great" Magic replied, a wicked grin plastered across his face as he hung up the phone.

"Alright then now that business has concluded for today, let's see what D.C has to offer!" Magic called out, grabbing the occupants of the vehicles attention, all had cheered before reaching the Hay-Adams Hotel.

They reached the hotel which was only minutes away from the white house and had the bell boys unload their luggage and put it into their suites they walked through the luxury in awe and excitement, with them finally settling in their massive connected suites and calling for room services.

"This is exactly what I needed" Magic cooed lowly, he sat back against the edge of the heated Jacuzzi as the bubbles fluttered about.

"Mmm...my thoughts exactly" Viola responded as she clinked glasses with Kiki as they rested their heads back onto the massage table and enjoyed the release of pressure that the masseuses were giving them.

"Oh yeah" Kiro hollered out as was getting a manicure and pedicure while being massaged as well.

After a few more hours of relaxation and release, the group decided to head out to the clubs and local parties around town until the crack of dawn signaled that their party was over.

Meanwhile in Columbia, Matt and Killbane roamed the streets and enjoyed the festivities that flooded the streets.

"Isn't this wonderful Matty?" Killbane shouted over the loud, booming music.

"Yes-yes it is quite exhilarating" Matt responded with a cheery smile, as he looked towards the sky and observed the bright fireworks that exploded into exciting patterns.

"Let's enjoy this night Matty, as tomorrow we will have to end another life" Killbane said dangerously as a grin crept across his features and his grip tightened around the smaller man's shoulders who only nodded in response.

"This is going to be a night to remember" Matt mumbled lowly as they moved towards the growing crowd.

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**Author's Note: Yes so we hope you enjoyed the chapter and enjoy the story but this will be the last chapter (unless told beforehand) in which The Saints & The Syndicate will be on one chapter. Starting with the next chapter The Saints will have their own chapter then The Syndicate. Hopefully that will make it easier to read and have faster updates. So once again if you have any suggestions leave it in the review. Until the next chapter see ya around and thanks again for viewing.**


	8. Heart is where the pain hits the most

**Author's Note(J3FAwesome): R&R is greatly appreciated, and thank you to all the new followers, favorites, and reviews. Keep them coming! And btw this is gonna be a short fluff chapter which will get some distance away from all the chaos.**

**Author's Note(MisterMagic25): Thanks for all the reviews, views, messages and everything it is greatly appreciated as we continue on with this story. Also this is the beginning of the Saints & Syndicate having split chapters. Meaning this chapter is the Saints chapter and the next chapter is the Syndicate's chapter. With that enjoy and keep reviewing and letting us know what you think. **

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**Chapter 8: The heart is where the pain hits the most**

Johnny paced back and forth, mumbling a few curses under his breathe, Tony who had recently arrived with the blueprints was sitting on a couch opposite of the pacing man with his left leg over his right and the Katana resting across his lap, the blade was slightly concealed within its sheath exposing the blood stained material.

"I can't believe those Ultor bitches been fucking us over the whole time" Johnny said in between quick and angered breathes with his fists clenched at his sides.

"Of course it was unexpected, but what could we do?" Tony replied, kicking his feet up to rest on the coffee table.

"We should've known better, with a weasel like Vogel, Ultor was bound to have a replacement just as bad" Shaundi cut in as she sauntered into the room and rested on a love seat.

"Ain't this great, first Vogel now Gryphon. We should just make Ben King run Ultor!" Johnny exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

"You know, that isn't a bad idea..." A grin began to form on Tony's face as he pushed off the Katana from his lap and proceeded to pull out his phone.

"I'll call him right now" Tony continued as he began to search through his contacts.

"You can't be serious" Pierce asked, finally speaking up after standing, staring at his reflection in the glass walls.

"Ben King ain't no empire builder!" Johnny protested, raising his voice slightly to get the attention of their leader who was currently speaking with the man in question.

"Is that Johnny in the background? Ask that dumbass who ran The Vice Kings and a multi-million dollar record company!" Ben yelled over the phone speaker loud enough for everyone to hear.

"And tell that 'living in the past' old man that his record company and his Vice Kings are nothing but a memory" Johnny reminded him coldly and began heading upstairs, earning a glare from Shaundi as Tony and Ben exchanged a few words until the line went dead.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Shaundi questioned angrily, and followed Johnny towards his room until Shaundi ran in front of him and he was forced to face the smaller woman.

"None of your business so back off" Johnny continued using his cold, and distant tone as he pushed past her and reached for his doorknob until Shaundi grabbed his wrist forcefully.

"Johnny listen to me..." Shaundi pleaded, her eyes glistening from unshed tears.

Johnny took a deep sigh as he led Shaundi into his bedroom and shut the door behind them. Once inside he walked over towards his dresser and pulled out a small photograph taken years ago and sat down on his bed.

"Look I know what you're thinking, I'm being more of an asshole as usual" Johnny said lowly, as he looks towards the photograph that seemed diminutive in his large, callouses hands.

"But I have good reasons" Johnny continued not removing his vision from the photograph.

Shaundi sat down next tithe larger man and crossed her legs as she leaned over and took a glance of the photograph and a tear began to fall down her cheek, leaving a small streak on its descent.

The photograph, looked to be about ten years old due to its weathered state, but the memories seen within it would last a lifetime. The Boss, or how he was known as at the time Playa stood tall with his arm around Johnny's back and his hand resting on his shoulder.

Johnny looked to be acting like a badass since he had his signature grin partnered with his arms crossed and head lowered so that his glasses rested near the tip of his nose, while The Boss looked as if he'd been having the time of his life and shown that he had matured quite drastically.

Gone were his stubbly soul patch, hoodies, and baggy pants. In their place were clean shaves, designer jeans and blazers they've been accustomed to for their new found fame and fortune.

"That was taken after Ben killed that bitch Tanya" Johnny finally spoke up, as the memories flowed through his mind.

"It was the first time I heard the mute motherfucker talk for once" Johnny chuckled a bit as Shaundi forced herself to laugh a bit as tears rested at the brim of her eyes.

"I'll never forget what he said..."

Years ago...

"I'm gonna skull fuck that bitch" Johnny threatened lowly, grinning at his idea of revenge and raising his K6 Krukov until it rested across his shoulders.

Benjamin king, who also accompanied the two Saints shook his head before returning his attention back to the elevator doors that would opening as soon as they reached the top floor.

Playa, who had been quiet the entire time since he joined The Saints looked around the elevator cabin curiously with a small smile forming on his face, until finally speaking up.

"Hope you don't mind Hepatitis..." Playa said smoothly, Ben and Johnny turned their attention towards the slightly smaller teen, caught off guard and shocked that he could talk.

"Wha-" Johnny attempted to question, until the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

"Later" Ben growled as he stepped into the room with his GDHC 50 drawn, Johnny and Playa soon followed with their own weapons drawn.

"Well, nice to see you boys had the chance to make it on time to congratulate me on my new promotion" Tanya said with a wide smile on her face as she slid her slim legs off of the top of her desk and stood facing the three men.

"What's with the Saints? Get tired of having your tail between your legs, and go to that washed up has-been Julius for help?" Tanya continued to tease, Johnny stepped forward with his K6 Krukov dangling with one hand.

"Oh I'm gonna enjoy this..." Johnny continued stalking forward until Ben reached out with his large hand and gripped the younger man by his shoulder.

"It's all about respect and loyalty" Ben responded, as he patted Johnny shoulder before continuing to move forward with Johnny and the young recruit following close behind.

"Respect, and Loyalty is so overrated" Tanya rolled her eyes and smiled as she reached under her desk and revealed a K6 Krukov and rested it against her hip preparing to fire until the three opposing men beat her to it, sending bullets all around shattering the window behind Tanya and sending the latter flying back from the impact of the bullets.

Once the smoke cleared, Ben approached the window to find the former cocky, and confident woman dangling by her one uninjured arm on the edge of the building.

"Looks like the tables have turned Tanya" Ben smiled a bit as he knew the mutiny was over. Tanya struggled to support her weight as the blood from her wounds began to flow freely down her petite frame.

"Hel-help me!" Tanya screamed as she struggled to hold on, Ben only smiled as he leaned over the window and looked down to observe the height.

"No problem" Ben leaned on one knee until applying his weight onto the smaller woman's dainty hands, earning a satisfying snap and scream as Tanya fell stories upon stories of floors until slamming into Ben's car on the bottom floor.

"Damn, good thing it wasn't my car" Johnny commented with a chuckle as he watched Tanya plummet to her death.

"Looks like we're all done here" Ben made his way towards the exit until stopping in front of the young teen standing next to Johnny.

"You're going to need these more than I do" Ben tossed a ring of keys towards the young man, who only nodded in response and looked down towards the keys in his hands in disbelief.

"You know what? Let's get a picture so I can rub it in Dex's face" Johnny suggested as he searched around until finding an old digital camera and handed it to a Saint recruit that had just arrived.

"Say cheese" The young girl said with a smile as Johnny and Playa took their poses, just as the flash erupted from the small camera was when Johnny was brought back to reality and looked around the room, realizing that his best friend was still dead.

"Wow" was all Shaundi could comment, her eyes glistened with tears but she still managed to smile at the memories.

"It's my fault he got killed" Johnny accused lowly, his head dropped down until only the top of his midnight colored hair was able to be seen.

"No it's-"

"Yes it is!" Johnny snapped, cutting off Shaundi's sentence as he proceeded to push himself from his bed and stalked forward until reaching a glass table, in which he hurled across the room until showers of the small, clear substance scattered across the wood floor.

The young lieutenant jumped out of pure instinct at the sudden rage that the infamous hothead was known for, but instead of intervening she decided against it knowing he needed to vent his anger.

"It's all my fault! First I got Eesh killed and now my fuckin' best friend is dead!" Johnny screamed and cursed at his so called mistakes, all while tossing anything that wasn't bolted to the ground.

"It's all my fault!" he repeated, punching holes in the walls with every wood that escaped his mouth.

Once his room was nothing but broken and scattered furniture, along with shards of glass and drywall that littered the floor was when Johnny fell like a bag of rocks onto his bed, which was the only piece of furniture that remained unscathed.

"I could've saved them..." Johnny rubbed his callouses hands across his face, as Shaundi moved over closer until her hand rested upon the large man's chest and felt his heartbeat slow.

"It's not your fault, there was nothing you could've done" Shaundi spoke up reassuringly, running her hand along the fabric of his T-shirt, Johnny only sighed in response as he removed his glasses and revealed his dark eyes that hardly anybody had seen from under his dark shades.

"Without them, I have nothing" Johnny admitted

"Aisha was the only woman to really care for me, even when we were just a flame back in High School" Johnny took a deep breath as Shaundi leaned in to hear his confessions.

"Even though we had our arguments and times where we seemed to have lost our love, we still found a way to make it work" Johnny continued, as a tear slowly crept its way from his eye socket until streaming its way down his cheekbone.

"Instead of giving her the life she wanted, I ended getting it taken away" he sniffed a bit, holding back the sadness he had welled up inside of him for years since her death.

"And now, one of the only people who gave me a chance, who saw me more as just a common thug and even risked his life to save my own on many occasion is six feet under just like those who opposed us" Johnny finished, as he wiped away the tear from his cheek.

Shaundi sniffed at his words, knowing that Johnny was never known for crying, or even confessing his thoughts and wondered how long he kept up the tough guy charade.

"That's in the past now, even though we've lost some loved ones, we have to keep going. The Boss would want us to keep fighting in this war" Shaundi said as she wiped her eyes with a tissue and looked towards Johnny.

"He wasn't just a friend, or even just our boss. He was family" Shaundi continued.

"Family" The word sounded foreign on his tongue, knowing that he never really had a family, or even anyone he considered family before except for his former love.

"Yes we're a family" Shaundi smiled a bit as she took Johnny's large hand within her own.

"A messed up family that murders for a living" she chuckled, and began leading Johnny up from the bed and downstairs to regroup.

* * *

Tony's POV

"Thank god for takeout" Pierce uttered as he belched from eating too many cartons of noodles, in which he probably went through 2 in the past hour while I was barely finishing my first.

"Nice to see you boys are working hard" I heard a female voice comment from behind, and looked towards the stairs to see Shaundi leading Johnny down here.

"It's what we do, in fact we work too hard!" I said as I slurped up the noodles from my chopsticks.

"Yeah whatever you say man" Johnny commented as he rifled through the takeout bag that was placed on the coffee table in front of me until grabbing a box of noodles and eating like a prisoner on his last meal.

"Mind chewing before you cough up a noodle?" Shaundi suggested as she raised an eyebrow and searched around in the bag until settling on an eggroll.

"I thought about it, but chewing is a bit overrated" a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he continued to scarf down the Chinese food.

"So what do we have planned for taking down that huge ass tower downtown?" Johnny questioned, sucking up a few stray noodles and turning towards Tony.

"We're gonna show The Syndicate that we're not fucking around" Tony replied, grinning a bit as he Johnny exchanged a few quick movie going glances.

"Oh no, you're not thinking of using tha-"

"Beautiful, huge ass bomb? Fuck yeah" Johnny finished and answered Shaundi's question as the latter began to protest.

"Don't worry, Pierce is gonna be flying the helicopter" Tony cut in, the man in question immediately jumped from his seat.

"Oh hell naw! I ain't flying with that dangerous shit under me!" Pierce cried out but was quickly dismissed by Shaundi's objections.

"What the boss says, goes" Johnny chuckled, knowing he was getting his and Tony's way no matter what.

"Story of my life" Shaundi mumbled under her breathe as she stomped off towards the elevator and headed home to prepare for the day to come tomorrow.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, yea its a different take on what the previous chapters had but it can't have the making of a great story without the stuff in between the action right? Anyways, once again this is the Saints chapter and the Syndicate will have the next chapter. Let us know what you think of this format or anything else you may want to know. Till next time thanks once again it is greatly appreciated.**


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